Family First ~ Living a Family Centered Life

Reading Goes High Tech

2012-02-10T12:55:00.000-08:00

As the world around us becomes more technological so does the learning tools for our children. Below is an interesting article I came across.

Seizing the Opportunity

A mix of “traditional” players and start-ups have been producing, selling and marketing children’s book apps.

While children’s publishing powerhouses like Scholastic Inc. and Sesame Workshop have robust digitization and app-development efforts, upstarts have come to market with children’s book apps, too. Encinitas, Calif.-based Oceanhouse Media produces, markets and sells Dr. Seuss and Berenstain Bears children’s book apps, for instance.

“Three years ago there was not much of anything,” said Michel Kripalani, president of Oceanhouse. “The app market was just getting rolling.”

Today, there are dozens of small companies like Kripalani’s as well as hundreds of “mom and pop” shops, single developers that produce a one-off app product. And it’s all because of Apple.

“You can build a product and submit it to Apple and ten days later – after approval [Apple will not sell an app in its store if it does not meet certain technical requirements] – you’re available for sale,” said Kripalani. “All of a sudden, they’ve created this environment that anyone who is able to gather the technical and marketing skills is able to build a publishing house.”

National Geographic, the Washington, D.C.-based nature magazine company, publishes magazines and books targeted at children. National Geographic has published two children’s apps, including the iTunes store hit, Weird But True, an app based on the print book series of the same name.

Scholastic has published 14 apps, including Magic Schoolbus Oceans, an extension of the Magic Schoolbus franchise.

“It’s been a very good business for us – and profitable,” said Deborah Forte, executive vice president of Scholastic and president of Scholastic Media, the division within the company that produces apps.

Sesame Workshop currently has 160 e-books and 25 apps and “is in the business [of electronic publishing] to stay,” said Jennifer Perry, vice president of worldwide publishing for Sesame Workshop.

Ribbon Cutting Celebration

2012-01-10T16:57:00.000-08:00

Today, will forever be etched in my memory. For once I am at a lost for words. The only word I can use to describe how I feel is GRATEFUL.

Mayor Vincent Gray serving as the keynote speaker.

The girls, pop-pop and I before the celebration

We Closed

2011-12-30T12:48:00.000-08:00

Our new home

Final Walk Through

2011-12-29T17:24:00.000-08:00

Today, we had our final walk through of the house. Everything checked out okay. The only items that need to be fixed are a broken shower rod in master suite, faulty fence door and a non-working light fixture in the fourth bedroom.

I am so excited for tomorrow morning's closing!

Final Approval

2011-12-28T16:08:00.000-08:00

Received my final approval from the underwriter. We are "cleared to close. " I am soooo excited right now. Final walk through of the property is scheduled for tomorrow at 6:00 pm and closing is Friday at 11:00 am.

Prince Colby

2011-12-25T14:15:00.000-08:00

Please welcome the newest member of our family...Prince Colby. He is a schnauzer that loves to give kisses and cuddle. For being such outstanding girls Vanessa & Jade received Prince Colby as their Christmas present.

William's Dave & Busters Birthday Bash

2011-12-22T15:10:00.000-08:00

Family gathered in our SUV and drove over an hour to ensure William had a birthday party he would enjoy and remember.

The backdrop for William's 8th birthday was Dave & Buster's (or the arcade as he calls it). Dave and Buster's is basically a restaurant with a HUGE midway...basically like a mature version of Chuck E. Cheese's and a WHOLE lot more options in the restaurant than pizza and salad, and TONS of more games!

The children played games while us adults enjoyed the sporting events on the television sets. We feasted on a dinner of burgers, chicken fingers, fries, Caribbean style shrimp, chicken and rice. These delicious foods were washed down with fountain sodas and bottled root beer (Vanessa had to present her ID to receive her faux bottled brewed drink). After dinner the children continued to play more games. William and I even tested our knowledge against one another in a modern trivia game. He out smarted me and was declared the champion and was rewarded with more game tickets than myself. No party is complete without a birthday cake. William had white a Transformers cake that was absolutely scrumptious.

Holiday Treats!

2011-12-14T17:42:00.000-08:00

Save the wrapper from specially marked bags of Nestlé candy, enter the code and help Share the Joy of Reading!

An Open Letter to President Obama

2011-12-11T17:47:00.000-08:00

Reproduction of letter from RIF CEO/President Carol Hampton Rasco

Dear President Obama:

Along with many reading advocates and individuals who savor the joys of reading, it was gratifying and encouraging to see news stories about your trip to the local Washington, DC bookstore with your daughters over the Thanksgiving holiday. What a great example you set for all parents and caregivers by showing the importance of children having choice in selection of books and actually obtaining books to own, both highly researched principles necessary to building strong reading and literacy skills in children and youth.

However, your trip also points to the serious problem created by your recommendation to Congress to eliminate the $25 million grant Reading Is Fundamental administered for 34 years. We have used the funds to create the most effective and efficient network for getting books to the neediest children in our country; the network is a true public-private partnership to provide children both a choice and a chance to own books of their own. Moreover, RIF creates the opportunity for low-income children to build a love for reading and hone the most basic skill needed to break the cycle of poverty in their lives. Studies show only 1 in 300 poor children have a book, a single book that can be called their own. Without access to this modest amount of federal funding, more than 4 million children living in poverty will not have the opportunity to own a book of their choosing. One book, one choice, one child; we believe that every child deserves to own a book that inspires them.

I hope you will work with RIF in the coming months to urge Congress to institute a new funding stream for national literacy organizations. And I hope that you will continue to demonstrate the importance of books and literacy so that private citizens, foundations, corporations and others will step up to ensure our neediest children are prepared for the workforce.

Sincerely,

Carol Hampton Rasco

Carol Hampton Rasco
President & CEO

Hawaiian Luau Celebration for Vanessa's 9th Birthday

2011-12-10T14:37:00.000-08:00

Family and friends gathered to celebrate Vanessa's 9th birthday with a Hawaiian Luau themed birthday party at Nana's house.

Upon arrival each party goer was greeted "Aloha", received their own custom lei and ranger hat. While at the party the children played games, chatted and entertained themselves as children do. After everyone arrived it was time to eat. The menu included chips, punch, hotdogs and a variety of pizza's. Peperoni and cheese were the obvious fan favorites. After eating the children played some more. No meal is complete without dessert and at a birthday party one can't leave without birthday cake. A marbled Hello Kitty cake was the featured item for this course along with Napolean ice cream. Only one thing that could hold a party goers attention after the cutting of the birthday cake is of course the opening of gifts...many were art related and to Vanessa's delight.

House Update

2011-12-09T17:16:00.000-08:00

It has been a mini ordeal to close on our house due to a lot consolidation issue.

For the past month, I have been calling the surveyor's office for updates on the property. Unfortunately, I have heard numerous time that a new lot number has not been assigned. Today, I was garnered good news because the lot has officially been consolidated and recorded.

Over joyed with this news I immediately contacted the realtor and seller and informed them of this and asked them to verify the information and share with the title company.

I then, contacted everyone who was aware of the lot consolidation issue and informed them of the good news including my loan processor.

A few hours from my initial message to the seller I received an email requesting for me to call her. Of course I was eager to speak with Elin because I couldn't imagine a better Christmas present than a new house.

My conversation with Elin went better than I could have even imagine. We discussed a possible close date...we are shooting for December 19th. Also she discussed with me details about the planting of the new trees and erection of the fence. Both of these will be completed next week. Then she asked if I would be interested in hosting a "party" for all of the new homeowners. The "party" would actually be a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new community with my home being the designated site. I was both humbled and honored to be asked to host this event.

Today, was a great day indeed!

Fences and Trees

2011-12-06T17:32:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I received the following message from my realtor as a forward:

Dear Realtor,

We have a ‘little bit left’ in our construction budget to offer all buyers some wooden fencing at the properties. As well we are planning to have Casey Trees plant trees on December 16th free of charge to the buyers on all lots (2-4 per lot). Most of these will be in the rear, some in the front. Can you please give buyers who will be closing this week, and all buyers the heads-up that this work will be done in the next couple of weeks?

Thanks,

Developer

This is the best news that I have heard in a very long time.

From Our Family to Yours

2011-11-24T17:11:00.000-08:00

How About Better Parents?

2011-11-21T17:56:00.000-08:00

By Thomas L. Friedman
Published: November 19, 2011

In recent years, we’ve been treated to reams of op-ed articles about how we need better teachers in our public schools and, if only the teachers’ unions would go away, our kids would score like Singapore’s on the big international tests. There’s no question that a great teacher can make a huge difference in a student’s achievement, and we need to recruit, train and reward more such teachers. But here’s what some new studies are also showing: We need better parents. Parents more focused on their children’s education can also make a huge difference in a student’s achievement.

How do we know? Every three years, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or O.E.C.D., conducts exams as part of the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, which tests 15-year-olds in the world’s leading industrialized nations on their reading comprehension and ability to use what they’ve learned in math and science to solve real problems — the most important skills for succeeding in college and life. America’s 15-year-olds have not been distinguishing themselves in the PISA exams compared with students in Singapore, Finland and Shanghai.

To better understand why some students thrive taking the PISA tests and others do not, Andreas Schleicher, who oversees the exams for the O.E.C.D., was encouraged by the O.E.C.D. countries to look beyond the classrooms. So starting with four countries in 2006, and then adding 14 more in 2009, the PISA team went to the parents of 5,000 students and interviewed them “about how they raised their kids and then compared that with the test results” for each of those years, Schleicher explained to me. Two weeks ago, the PISA team published the three main findings of its study:

“Fifteen-year-old students whose parents often read books with them during their first year of primary school show markedly higher scores in PISA 2009 than students whose parents read with them infrequently or not at all. The performance advantage among students whose parents read to them in their early school years is evident regardless of the family’s socioeconomic background. Parents’ engagement with their 15-year-olds is strongly associated with better performance in PISA.”

Schleicher explained to me that “just asking your child how was their school day and showing genuine interest in the learning that they are doing can have the same impact as hours of private tutoring. It is something every parent can do, no matter what their education level or social background.”

For instance, the PISA study revealed that “students whose parents reported that they had read a book with their child ‘every day or almost every day’ or ‘once or twice a week’ during the first year of primary school have markedly higher scores in PISA 2009 than students whose parents reported that they had read a book with their child ‘never or almost never’ or only ‘once or twice a month.’ On average, the score difference is 25 points, the equivalent of well over half a school year.”

Yes, students from more well-to-do households are more likely to have more involved parents. “However,” the PISA team found, “even when comparing students of similar socioeconomic backgrounds, those students whose parents regularly read books to them when they were in the first year of primary school score 14 points higher, on average, than students whose parents did not.”

The kind of parental involvement matters, as well. “For example,” the PISA study noted, “on average, the score point difference in reading that is associated with parental involvement is largest when parents read a book with their child, when they talk about things they have done during the day, and when they tell stories to their children.” The score point difference is smallest when parental involvement takes the form of simply playing with their children

These PISA findings were echoed in a recent study by the National School Boards Association’s Center for Public Education, and written up by the center’s director, Patte Barth, in the latest issue of The American School Board Journal.

The study, called “Back to School: How parent involvement affects student achievement,” found something “somewhat surprising,” wrote Barth: “Parent involvement can take many forms, but only a few of them relate to higher student performance. Of those that work, parental actions that support children’s learning at home are most likely to have an impact on academic achievement at school.

“Monitoring homework; making sure children get to school; rewarding their efforts and talking up the idea of going to college. These parent actions are linked to better attendance, grades, test scores, and preparation for college,” Barth wrote. “The study found that getting parents involved with their children’s learning at home is a more powerful driver of achievement than parents attending P.T.A. and school board meetings, volunteering in classrooms, participating in fund-raising, and showing up at back-to-school nights.”

To be sure, there is no substitute for a good teacher. There is nothing more valuable than great classroom instruction. But let’s stop putting the whole burden on teachers. We also need better parents. Better parents can make every teacher more effective.

Reflections

2011-11-19T17:53:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year...I always reflect on the things I am most thankful for. I am blessed to have good health, financially able to sustain myself, true friendships, supportive family, a "bonus son", two amazing daughters, a partner that serves as my protector, sees the best in me when I am at my worst, challenges me to be nothing short of my best self but most important loves my girls as his own. God has continued to bless me and my family this year. I know he has also done amazing things for your family so lets take the time to praise him and reflect on all the many blessings we have in our lives.

Update *******

Reflections are bittersweet, you realize all that you have achieved however you also see all of your shortcomings. While having dinner tonight my eyes watered up because I lived my biggest fear this year...three days after our 10 year anniversary my divorce was finalized. Applying for and following through with my divorce was the hardest thing I have ever done. Even with this divorce there was a blessing...my ex-husband held no animosity and granted me a non-contested divorce because he knew how important it was to me to move forward with my life. He proved through his actions that if you ever loved someone their happiness means everything to you even when the relationship ends. For this my ex-husband will always be a prince among men in my eyes. I pray that he finds peace and happiness and a woman deserving of his love.

2011 Multicultural Booklist (Grades K-4)

2011-11-04T09:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the generous support of Macy’s, RIF will donate more than 580 multicultural children’s book collections to elementary school classrooms in low‐income communities throughout the United States. The 2011 Multicultural Book Collection includes 45 hardcover children's books representing American Indian, African‐American, and Hispanic themes as well as selections from additional culture groups.

100th Day of School by Reagan Miller

Anna & Natalie by Barbara H. Cole

Amazing Faces by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki

Bein' with You This Way by W. Nikola-Lisa

The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli

The Birthday Swap by Loretta Lopez

Book Fiesta by Pat Mora

A Boy Called Slow by Joseph Bruchac

Coyote Places the Stars by Harriet Peck Taylor

The Dancing Dragon by Marcia Vaughan

Days to Celebrate by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Enemy Pie by Derek Munson

Giving Thanks by Chief Jake Swamp

Hand in Hand by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Home to Medicine Mountain by Chiori Santiago

Hush! by Minfong Ho

I Love Saturdays y domingos by Alma Flor Ada

Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Lin Yi's Lantern by Brenda Williams

Lion Dancer by Kate Waters and Madeline Slovenz-Low

Louis Sockalexis by Bill Wise

Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport

The Moon over Star by Dianna Hutts Aston

More Than Anything Else by Marie Bradby

My Name is María Isabel by Alma Flor Ada

Nobody Owns the Sky by Reeve Lindbergh

¡Olé! Flamenco by George Ancona

One of Us by Peggy Moss

One World, One Day by Barbara Kerley

The Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby by Crystal Hubbard

The Pirate of Kindergarten by George Ella Lyon

Planting the Trees of Kenya by Claire A. Nivolaby

Powwow's Coming by Linda Boyden

Rich by Nikki Grimes

Saltypie by Tim Tingle

Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson

Some Kind of Love by Traci Dant

Suki’s Kimono by Chieri Uegaki

Throw Your Tooth on the Roof by Selby B. Beeler

Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto

Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding by Lenore Look

Up and Down the Andes by Laurie Krebs

Whoever You Are by Mem Fox

Wings by Christopher Myers

No Goblins or Gouls Here

2011-10-31T17:06:00.000-07:00

This evening the girls and I enjoyed halloween by visiting our local mall for trick-or-treating. After that we attended Community of Hope's Harvest festival where we enjoyed hotdogs, popcorn, cotton candy and other treats. Also the girls made numerous crafts and enjoyed a magic show.
I LOVE my church so much and all that it does for the community :)

Girl Scouts Troop at Watkins

2011-10-25T17:44:00.001-07:00

Vanessa again wants to do Girl Scouting due to the fact that many of her classmates participate in a community troop that meets at the school. Since the beginning of the school year she has been badgering me about scouting. I gave her the task of finding out meeting times and dates. Yesterday, she came home and told me they meet on Mondays once per month. To follow up with her findings I contacted the school to verify if there were any open slots however to my dismay I was informed that there is a Brownie troop at the school. Vanessa is at the Junior level. The coordinator informed me that I could of course form my own troop at the school because there is always an interest for Girl Scouting (the story of my life with scouting.)

I immediately contacted council to find out the protocol for transferring service units. The coordinator for the Capital Hill area was extremely excited to have the formation of a new troop.

After speaking with her I knew the next step was to secure a free location.

Of course I knew exactly where I wanted to hold my meetings. Upon picking up the girls I approached Ms. Roberts to find out the requirements for using the recreation space. She immediately shared with me her previous wish of wanting to have scouting at Watkins so it was a perfect teaming for the two of us. We decided to hold twice a month Monday meetings at the recreation center and plan a once a month activity.

The first parent interest meeting will be the first week of November. Here's to a a wonderful new experience of Girl Scouting sisterhood at Watkins!

Women's Day at COH

2011-10-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

Today was women's day at Community of Hope (COH) and Dr. Trenace Richardson sang, preached and shared Jehovah's message in a way no one else could have. To say she is annointed is an understatement. All praises go up to Jehovah for the many blessings he has bestowed upon me and my family. Having peace and happiness is a gift only he can give and I thank him whole heartedly for giving it to us.

Ivy City Community Meeting

2011-10-20T21:52:00.000-07:00

Tonight, the girls and I attended our first Ivy City community meeting.

The experience was very unique because I met current residents and advocates that wanted to empower the neighborhood. Many of these individuals no longer had their zeal or belief that the elected city officials would honor their requests to improve the community. After hearing these community members share their experiences I started to wonder if I made the right choice to purchase a home in Ivy City.

After second guessing my decision I then decided that my I would create the community I want Ivy City to become by serving as an advocate for my neighborhood.

At the community meeting an association forming committee was created and I volunteered to be a member of this group because it will be key in shaping what Ivy City becomes. Our first meeting will be Tuesday, October 25th.

Hooray to transforming Ivy City into the pride of Washington, DC!

Cacciatore-Style Chicken and Vegetables

2011-10-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

Each year, I make annual goals in November (starting early this year because I have already achieved my 2010/2011 goal) and this year's is to become a profient cook that can prepare Jamaican and Soul Food exceptionally well.

To accomplish this goal, I will create two new dishes each week. Tonight, I began this process by creating cacciatore-style chicken and vegetables (not technically Jamaican or Soul).

Upon picking up Vanessa and Jade from school they were excited to see me with a bag. They immediately asked what was in it. I told them my plan for dinner and they became excited. Vanessa even asked if she could bring some of it for her teacher. I told her of course. When we arrived home the girls watched as I browned the chicken and chopped the vegetables. They also nibbled on the chopped veggies as their after school snack.

The recipe took longer than excepted (almost twice the time) but all in all I think creating cacciatore-style chicken was a success! Vanessa said it was one of the best dinners I have made.

Small Gestures Leave Lasting Impressions on the Heart

2011-10-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

It's the thoughtful little gestures that mean the most to me. I love nuts, especially pistachios. Tonight, William surprised me with a just because gift of pistachios, In the big scheme of things it is minor but small things such as these reminds me that he is paying attention to what is important to me :)

Reading Rockets Writing Contest

2011-10-18T17:34:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the publication of the Exquisite Corpse Adventure, Reading Rockets and AdLit.org are hosting the Exquisite Prompt Redux —a national writing contest for kids. Fabulous prizes include autographed books by Exquisite Corpse Adventure authors!

Parent Teacher Conference Day

2011-10-17T16:13:00.001-07:00

Today, was parent teacher conference day at the girl's school.

Since, I regularly keep in contact with both teachers not much was needed to be discussed however the trimesterly DIBELS results were in. With great joy, I share with you that Vanessa is on level "P" which is the proficient bench mark for fourth graders. Jade is on level "C" which is considered advance for a first grader.

While, waiting to meet with Jade's teacher another parent and I began chatting and soon enough I began sharing my Reading Is Essential message. She mentioned to me that her son was having a hard time with his reading. My first question to her was "did she make reading fun for him." Her answer was no. In hearing this I told her the best way to get him interested in reading is to allow him to read whatever he wants even if it is comic books. Immediately, upon hearing this she burst into a chuckle and told me those are the only books he picks out at the library and she always tells him to put them back and then she proceeds to pick out other books for him. I told her at this point the subject matter should not be important but instead what she wants is to get him reading.

Next, I shared two creative ways in which we got our un-enthused son engaged in reading. I mentioned his love of playing video games and that in order for him to play his game of choice he is responsible for reading all of the rules and directions for the game. Finally, I shared with her that we oftentimes only allow him to watch his favorite television program with the caption on while the tv is muted. This forces him to read if he wants to know what the programming is about. Unfortunately, our conversation was cut short because it was time to meet with Jade's teacher.

Today's conference re-enforced that our family is on the road to raising great readers and that regardless of where I am I can share my message of reading is essential!

Motivating Kids to Read: Teenagers and Reading

2011-10-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

My primary focus is usually to encourage younger children to read however teens also need to the support of family and friends to remain avid readers.

Perhaps the teenagers in your family were once avid readers but now hardly ever open a book, or perhaps they never liked reading in the first place.

As an adult, you know that reading is important and you obviously want to make sure that the teenagers in your life grow into adulthood with all the skills they need to succeed.

In this article, RIF suggests how parents can help teenagers decide for themselves that reading is important to their lives.

Try to avoid...

Before we list ways to encourage teen reading that work, here are a few tactics that don't:

*Pressuring, nagging, or bribing. Encourage teens to read, but don't hound them.
*Criticizing what teens read. Explain what troubles you about certain types of reading materials after reading them yourself. Forbid as little as possible. And whenever you can, accept differences of opinion as just that.
*Lavishing too much praise. If you catch your teenagers reading, show interest, but don't make a big deal out of it. Teens need to know that they're reading for their own pleasure—not for your approval.

Ways to encourage teens to read...

*Set an example. Let teens see you reading for pleasure.
*Furnish your home with a variety of reading materials. Leave books, magazines, and newspapers around. Check to see what disappears for a clue to what interests your teenager.
*Give teens an opportunity to choose their own books. When you and your teen are out together, browse in a bookstore or library. Go your separate ways and make your own selections. A bookstore gift certificate is a nice way of saying, "You choose."
*Build on your teen's interests. Look for books and articles that feature their favorite sports teams, rock stars, hobbies, or television shows. Give a gift subscription to a special interest magazine.
*View pleasure reading as a value in itself. Almost anything your youngsters read—including the Sunday comics—helps build reading skills.
*Read some books written for teens. Young adult novels can give you valuable insights into the concerns and pressures felt by teenagers. You may find that these books provide a neutral ground on which to talk about sensitive subjects.
*Make reading aloud a natural part of family life. Share an article you clipped from the paper, a poem, a letter, or a random page from an encyclopedia—without turning it into a lesson.
*Acknowledge your teen's mature interests. Look for ways to acknowledge the emerging adult in your teens by suggesting some adult reading you think they can handle.
*Keep the big picture in mind. For all sorts of reasons, some teenagers go through periods without showing much interest in reading. Don't panic! Time, and a few tips from this article, may help rekindle their interest.

Talking to teens about reading...

Adults know how important it is for their teenagers to read. Reading is not just important while teens are in school; good reading skills are essential to future success in the workplace. But making a pitch for reading can be a real challenge. If you are the parent of a teenager who has lost interest in reading or never liked it much, here are some suggestions for connecting with your child about books and reading.

What's in it for your teen? Through reading they can:

*Become an expert. An expert on any subject they like—from sports stats to spelunking, coins to carburetors, or anything in between.
*Live dangerously. Through reading teens can share the challenges, fears, thrills, and achievements of those they are reading about without the risk.
*Have a few laughs. Many teens will enjoy sitting down with a book by their favorite stand-up comedian, a collection of jokes or cartoons, or a humor magazine.
*See the world. Without leaving their room, teens can visit places that fascinate them.
*Travel through time. Historical fiction and science fiction move a reader back and forth in time. *Use their brains. Teens may enjoy solving a mystery by figuring out whodunit, outwitting a crafty villain, or thinking through a perilous situation.
*Get some free advice. Lots of novels feature teenage characters who have problems and pressures similar to those your teenage may be dealing with.
*Discover new interests. Through reading, teens may develop an interest in something they knew nothing about before.
*Find a cause. Teens can get smart on an issue that matters to them.
*Escape. Teens can escape noise, tension, or boredom by escaping into a book.

Helping teens find books that interest them...

What they say is true: the more you read, the better you read. In other words, stepping up the reading you do for yourself will make other reading tasks less of a chore. Here are some ideas parents can share with their teens to find the kinds of books that will most interest them:

*Decide what you're in the mood for. High adventure? Romance? Perhaps you enjoyed a recent movie or TV miniseries; chances are it was based on a book you'd enjoy also.
*Ask around. Ask friends, a favorite teacher, or your coach to suggest books they enjoyed.
*Check out the library. It won't cost you anything, and the choices are virtually unlimited. Don't be shy about asking a librarian a question like, "Do you have any books on rock music?"
*Browse in a bookstore. Find the section that interests you—fantasy, cars, computers, or whatever. Treat yourself to an inexpensive paperback, or just have a look around.
*Consult a list of books other teenagers have enjoyed. Ask for a book list at your school or public library.
*Don't judge a book by its cover. What you see on the cover is not necessarily what you get. Read the short reviews printed inside a dust jacket, or skim the first chapter to find out what a book is really about.
*Try a few pages. If the books not for you, put it aside and try another, until you find a winner.
*Read at your own pace. Reading isn't a contest. So what if you read slowly or skip words here and there? If you're interested, you'll read to the end, and that's what counts. And you'll probably find yourself picking up speed along the way.
*Let one good thing lead to another. When you read something that really speaks to you, you may be sorry to have it end. But the end is never really the end for a person who reads. You can always open another book, and another, and another.

Source: RIF Parent Guide Brochure

The World's Spookiest Booklist

2011-10-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

Ages 6-8

The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree by Stan and Jan Berenstain

Three terrified little bears explore the inside of a mysterious old tree and go into, up, through, over, down, and out.

Happy Halloween Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt

It's almost time to go trick-or-treating, but first Stinky Face has just a few questions for Mama, including: "Mama, what if Mrs. Petry doesn't know it's really just me at her door?" and "What if she gets so surprised from my super-scary costume that she throws her candy bowl up and it lands on her head and candy spills all over?"

There’s a Monster Under My Bed by James Howe

There was a monster under his bed. Simon knew it. He could hear him breathing. Maybe more than one. Maybe two. Maybe even three or four. Five monsters crawling up the side of his bed! Why had he agreed that he didn't need a night light? His younger brother, Alex, had one. What was wrong with a night light?

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Max is being so terrible that his mother sends him to his room without supper. But Max doesn't care -- he sails off to the land of the Wild Things, and they make him his king. There, Max can be as terrible as he pleases, and the Wild Things join in the rumpus.

Ages 9-12

Bone: Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith

Three Bone cousins—Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone—are separated and lost in a vast, uncharted desert. One by one, they find their way into a deep, forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures. Eventually, the cousins are reunited at a farmstead run by tough Gran'ma Ben and her spirited granddaughter Thorn. But little do the Bones know, there are dark forces conspiring against them, and their adventures are only just beginning!

Goblins Don't Play Video Games by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

There are some pretty weird grown-ups living in Bailey City. But could the new computer teacher really be the Great Goblin from Melody's video game? The Bailey School Kids are going to find out!

The Mystery of the Runaway Ghost by Gertrude Chandler Warner

When the Boxcar children visit their friend Fran in Wisconsin, they can't wait to hear her tell the story of the runaway ghost. Fran's family ghost hasn't been spotted in years, but the Aldens still shiver at the spooky tale of the ghost's bell clanging after dark. Then, Violet hears a mysterious ringing in the middle of the night and the children start to wonder—could the runaway ghost be back?

Vampires by Marc Tyler Nobleman

From Elizabeth Bathory and Vlad the Impaler to vampires in the movies; from real-life vampire bats to the myths about how to repel and destroy vampires, examine the facts and myths about this famous monster.

Ages 13+

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Dracula chronicles the vampire, Count Dracula's journey from Transylvania to the nighttime streets of London. There, he searches for the blood of strong men and beautiful women while his enemies plot to rid the world of his frightful power.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with discovering "the cause of generation and life" and "bestowing animation upon lifeless matter," Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts but, upon bringing it to life, he recoils in horror at the creature's hideousness. Tormented by isolation and loneliness, the once-innocent creature turns to evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge against his creator, Frankenstein.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

When Isabella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresistible and impenetrable. Up until now, he has managed to keep his true identity hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret.
What Bella doesn’t realize is the closer she gets to him, the more she is putting herself and those around her at risk. And, it might be too late to turn back. . . .

Uncle's Trunk by Julie Austad

When the Lawson family moves from West Coast to East Coast by inheriting their uncle's house, they quickly discover they have to take everything that came with it. The uncle used to be an actor in the theater and he left behind a steamer trunk full of costumes, old memories, and...something else.

Supporting Literacy for Kids

2011-10-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

This is an article written by Jerry Large, Seattle Times Staff Columnist, and is not the original works of myself.

I think I can. I think I can.

Like "The Little Engine That Could," Carol Rasco and Susan Dibble face a seemingly insurmountable task, and like that engine, they are not giving up.

Rasco is the president and CEO of Reading is Fundamental, the oldest and largest nonprofit dedicated to increasing literacy among young children. Dibble is executive director of Page Ahead, a Seattle-based literacy program that serves 55,000 children in Washington state each year.

Page Ahead, like many reading programs across the country, gets a lot of help from Reading is Fundamental, which has long depended on federal money — money that was cut from the budget this year.

That's like giving the ax to Santa Claus. The government seems to be blindly slashing without considering longterm consequences.

RIF gets children excited about reading, especially low-income children. Its primary way of doing that is by partnering with local schools and groups to give books to more than 4 million children a year.

Dibble cites studies showing that, "If a child is not reading at grade level by the time he finishes third grade, he will never catch up."

A recent study by Donald Hernandez at Hunter College, the City University of New York, found that students who did not read at grade level in the third grade were four times less likely to graduate by 19 than proficient readers. The consequences of not reading at grade level are even worse for children in poverty, who are 13 times less likely to graduate than proficient readers who are not poor.

Being able to read well by then is critical, because that is when children switch from learning to read to using reading to acquire information.

Children who don't read well fail classes and often drop out altogether. And, Dibble added, there is a reason "seven in 10 inmates are functionally illiterate." What job would they get?
So RIF focuses on children at risk of failure to read, Rasco said. "And we know poverty is the biggest indicator."

Rasco was in Seattle last week for a meeting of literacy bloggers and to visit local reading programs.

RIF and local partners work with parents, encouraging them to read to their children, and they provide other reading-related programs.

But getting books into the hands of children is the main thing — books the children pick themselves from a selection ordered by local partners, schools, reservations, military bases, Head Start programs, and other locations.

RIF was formed in 1966 and was so successful that Congress created a book-distribution matching fund and contracted with RIF to manage it.

That relationship has continued for 34 years without a hint of corruption or waste, even with 17,000 sites and 400,000 volunteers.

The federal money constituted 75 percent of RIF's budget.

"We're not going to make up $24 million [last year's grant was $25 million] overnight," Rasco said.

Literacy is a path to success, and now, just as we have the most children sunk in poverty in 50 years, we decide we can't afford to give them a ladder.

"I was pretty disappointed," Dibble said. "The government is the people, isn't it? I feel like the people chose not to do something pretty inexpensive for children. The government is us. Where are our values?"

She and other partners are scrambling to keep programs alive.

"For us, RIF is more that the physical books," Dibble said. "RIF was efficiency. They had an ordering system, they paid for shipping." This month as school started and teachers sent in orders, Dibble said, "We had to recruit volunteers to count and pack books. It's added layers of complexity."

And Page Ahead is asking local sites to pay part of the cost of the books now. Many couldn't afford that, so 100 fewer sites asked for books this year. That's almost half.

Even with federal money, the programs reached only a fraction of at-risk children.

Maybe people don't see the need. Rasco said it's been a challenge helping people who grew up in homes full of books understand that there are people who didn't have that and who aren't passing a love of reading on to their children.

Children can be motivated to read, with books that matter to them.

Dibble said her job is satisfying partly because the problem of literacy is fixable. "We have a lot of information about how to get children excited about reading, how to help them with their reading. It takes time and money and effort, but it's not like we couldn't do it. This one is winnable."

That's why she's so frustrated now, but she and Rasco are still climbing their hill, looking for other sources of money, asking people to contact their representatives, and believing they will succeed.

I hope they can. I think they must

Latest House Details

2011-08-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

Our porch officially has rails, the address numbers are up and the parking pad is in place.

Football Weigh-In

2011-08-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

Woke up bright and early to take William to his football weigh-in. Him and 14 others were successful in making the 75 pound cut.

Since weigh-in is complete he is officially a HORNET!

House Walk Through

2011-08-11T10:46:00.000-07:00

Today, I visited the house for an inpromptu walk through. The stairs (with rails) are up and very beautiful. The builder was at the work site and told me the house will be complete by the end of next week.

I am so excited! It is more than a year since I discovered the Ivy City project. Initially, my credit score was not where it needed to become a homeowner however I decided that I would do everything it took to ensure that one of the two 5 bedroom homes would become mine. I did exactly what I said I would. Other than paying off my student loan debt in one year, this process has caused me the most growth.

Dry-Wall is Up

2011-07-28T16:41:00.000-07:00

William went out for an impromptu visit to the house for a walk thru. He told me the dry-wall is up and the inside of the house is starting to come together. Also the builder gave me bathroom tile options today and we decided on mushroom.

As you can tell we are excited and counting down the days until we can move into our new home.

Ms. Wheelchair Maryland 2011

2011-07-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

Today, after church Vanessa, Jade and I met Ms. Wheelchair Maryland 2011, Sharonda Johnson-Wilkes. Unfortunately, I was without my sash however we could not miss the opportunity to have our photo taken with her.

As she prepares to leave for her national pageant in Grand Rapids, Michigan our family will help show our support for her by creating posters to promote her platform this upcoming Tuesday evening.

Mrs. International 2011

2011-07-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

Pageant season is in full swing for the summer. The very first pageant to crown its 2011 winner is Mrs. International.

The results are:

4th runner-up ~ Mrs. Applachian, Cydney Miller
3rd runner-up ~ Mrs. Tennessee , Mary Marsha Riley
2nd runner-up ~ Mrs. Southern States , Donna Brown
1st runner-up ~ Mrs. California, Tiffany Ellison

Drum roll please....the new Mrs. International 2011 is Janet Bolin the former Mrs. North Carolina

Our Porch is On

2011-07-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

The builder has finally begun creating the porch to our home. Across is a photo of the latest progress.

Lady Hornets Cheerleaders

2011-07-21T22:19:00.000-07:00

This past school year, Jade wanted to cheer for the Lady Hornets Cheer leading team at Watkins Elementary School however they did not accept participants under the age of 6. The new cheering season began June 8th and to Jade's delight she became a Lady Hornet.

Initially, I thought I would be supporting Jade in her newly founded cheering endeavor however at the second cheer practice Vanessa decided to join the squad and to her amazement she loved it.

Within a two week period I went from not knowing much about cheer leading to becoming the mother of not one but two cheerleaders.

Many skills are taught in cheer leading such a self-esteem building, good sportsmanship and team work. The mission of the Lady Hornets is that their participants will serve as role models within their community.

One component of the cheering program is to teach the girls how to tumble and flip so in addition to the regular cheer leading practices the girls now take tumbling lessons twice a month.

Last night, there was a mandatory parent meeting. I thought it would be a meeting about upcoming competitions, schedules etc. however soon I realized our program was quite underfunded and that "us parents" would have to make things happen so our girls would have the same cheer leading experience as the better funded program. With this as our mission I joined the program's board (Watkins Youth Association...a 501c non-profit) and decided to volunteer my time to assist with business marketing for acquiring grants and sponsorship of the program.

With my new roles as cheer mom, Executive Board member and business marketing liaison for the Watkins Youth Association I know I will directly have a positive impact on the life of the children within my community. I am so excited for this opportunity to make a difference.

Allergies

2011-07-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I am stuck in doors with flu like symptoms due to allergies.

Our family has re-scheduled our day at Six Flags.

Much was Achieved Toward My Pageant Prep Today

2011-07-13T18:37:00.000-07:00

I officially have a roommate for the competition. I will be rooming with Patricia Sullivan, Classic Ms. New Jersey Woman and her sister-in-law. We are sharing a two bedroom oceanfront suite.

Patricia suggested that I fly into Myrtle Beach on Spirit airlines due to the $9 club program. I was amazed at the round trip ticket fares this carrier has and is so grateful that Patricia told me about their program.

Tonight, I selected my evening gown. It was a dress I purchased and had stoned for the 2009 Mrs. Maryland International pageant. I will make a few additional style alterations to it so that it is "perfect" for the competition. It is a relief to have such a significant wardrobe item selected.

DC CAS Results are In

2011-07-12T07:16:00.000-07:00

Last night at 10:38 pm, I received an email from Vanessa's teacher of her DC CAS test score results. Why the urgency for which to send an email message to a parent so late at night you ask?

Drum roll please

Vanessa achieved proficient on both the math and reading components of the exam.

Both her teacher and I were/are extremely proud of Vanessa for accomplishing this because at the beginning of the school year her reading was not at the level we knew she was capable of achieving. Due to lots of hard work on Vanessa's part and countless hours (outside of the regular classroom time) of one-on-one reading skill improvement sessions with her teacher this was possible.

One can not predict the future or know how things would have turned out however I know Vanessa was able to score so well on the DC CAS due to the fact that she is a student at Watkins Elementary and was blessed to have Ms. Ewart as her teacher.

Never question God's plan for you because obstacles are sometimes blessings in disguise. I wholehearted thank our former school, Washington Yu Ying, for determining we were not eligible for re-enrollment due to the inaccurate way in which they determined DC residency. Their decision forced us to look into our neighborhood school. What we found was a gem of outstanding educators that are truly dedicated to the students. Yes, here it is not about who earns what, who can give the biggest donation to the school or who can can get the school the most public press. It is not needed here because the student's test scores speak for themselves and our cluster schools are the pride of Capital Hill.

To celebrate Vanessa's achievement we are going to Six Flags this weekend.

My Goals as Ms. District of Columbia All American 2011

2011-07-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Being a titleholder means being a role model and goodwill ambassador for one's community. As Ms. District of Columbia All American I would like to achieve the folowing:

*Raise $500.00 for Reading Is Essential.
*Complete 15 appearances before the national competition.
*Visit each of the Eight wards for community/neighborhood advisory meetings.
*Share my message of "Reading is the Key to Your Future" with the Mayor and all elected city officials.
*Get September 24, 2011 (fourth Saturday in the month) proclaimed as Reading Is Essential day for Washington, DC.
*Hold the first annual Reading Is Essential walk/run on September 24, 2011.

Reading Is Essential

2011-07-11T08:22:00.000-07:00

Since 2007, my primary community support effort has been promoting the Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) organization as the founder and operator of the Beginning the Journey chapter. This experience has been life changing. It coupled with my efforts as a reading tutor/buddy, eMentor, serving on reading advisory boards and my own struggles/triumphs with my daughter's reading progress has caused me to want to expand my mission and focus.

Having a struggling reader (or a family member who can not read entirely) is extremely hard emotionally. The primary reason for this is everyone wants their child/family member to be self sufficient. Knowing how to read is a required life skill and a part of self-sufficiency.

In additional, to providing free reading materials and teaching families about the importance of reading I want to also offer a support network for families as they navigate the emotional journey of teaching their child/family member how to read. My plan to do this is by forming a 501c non-profit which will be called "Reading Is Essential."

Honestly, I am at the beginning stage of implementing this concept and will be holding focus groups on how to take this idea and solidify it into an international non-profit that will help eradicate illiteracy.

Miss Northern Virginia USA and Miss Northern Virginia Teen USA Pageants

2011-07-10T18:05:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I had the pleasure to assist my dear friend, Yolanda Makle, with the Northern Virginia USA and Northern Virginia Teen USA pageants. I served as the official registration coordinator.

I could not have thought of a better event in which to kick off my reign as Ms. District of Columbia All American 2011.

Vanessa & Jade traveled with mommy to Herndon for the pageant. The girls were excited about spending time with Yolanda's daughter and her sister in a hotel. On our way to Virginia Vanessa chattered non-stop about the fun she would have sleeping at a hotel, swimming in the pool and getting massages. I had to correct her quickly that there would be no massages. She responded by saying everyone got massages at hotels which I found to be hilarious. That comment proved my daughter has watched too many episodes of Suite Life with Zack & Cody.

Well back to the original blog entry topic...Miss Northern Virginia USA and Miss Teen Northern Virginia USA.

To my joy, the pageant was a reunion of sorts for me to see some of my old pageant buddies. LaQuisha Hall was the auditor of the pageant (the last time I saw her was August of 2009) so I was extremely excited to see her. I also saw Jerri James, Dale Bradshaw and Kyle Haggerty who are long time associates. (Dale even gave me the card to the talent agency in which he operates for Vanessa because he thinks she could do commercial work!) Also after many years of knowing of one another, I met Candice Sample. We became fast friends and I will definately keep in contact with her.

Vanessa and Jade were enamored by the queens in attendance. Their favorite was the exceptionally beautiful Nikki Poteet.

Yolanda organized a great show and had the full support of her family, state team (Steve attended and assisted with interviews) and the tri-state pageant community by way of many reigning royalty supporting the competition. The pageant was as professional as any state competition or small national event.

The judge's had an extremely hard job in selecting the new titleholders because Yolanda was blessed with 14 superb contestants. They were all extremely fit, articulate AND beautiful. Many had previous pageant experience or if a newbie was knowledgable enough to seek outside assistance from a pageant coach.

The most anticipated part of any pageant competition is the crowning of the new titleholder. In addition to the preliminary titles congeniality, photogenic, evening gown and swimsuit awards were announced. The contestants bestowed the congeniality award to Vishaka Ravishanker. Emily Hall was selected most photogenic. Riley Campbell won both the evening gown and swimsuit awards.

At the conclusion of the pageant Riley Copans was crowned Miss Teen Northern Virginia and Emily Hall won the coveted Miss Northern Virginia USA title.

Smithsonian Folk Festival

2011-07-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I was unable to appear at the Smithsonian Folk Festival as Ms. District of Columbia All American 2011 due to the USPS not delivering my sash on July 8th by noon as Melissa Hooks, my national director, arranged.

I was a bit disappointed however every great titleholder knows how to accept things they can not control and roll with the punches because things happen.

My first official appearance will now be the Miss Northern Virginia and Miss Teen Northern Virginia USA pageants. What an awesome way to being my reign!

Getting Your Child to Love Reading

2011-07-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

Helping your children enjoy reading is one of the most important things you can do as a parent and it's well worth the investment of your time and energy.

Kids will learn reading skills in school, but often they come to associate reading with work, not pleasure. As a result, they lose their desire to read. And it is that desire—the curiosity and interest—that is the cornerstone to using reading and related skills successfully.

By far the most effective way to encourage your children to love books and reading is to read aloud to them, and the earlier you start, the better. Even a baby of a few months can see pictures, listen to your voice, and turn cardboard pages.

Make this time together a special time when you hold your kids and share the pleasure of a story without the distractions of TV or telephones. You may be surprised to find that a well-written children's book is often as big a delight to you as it is to the kids.

And don't stop taking the time to read aloud once your children have learned to read for themselves. At this stage, encourage them to read to you some of the time. This shared enjoyment will continue to strengthen your children's interest and appreciation.

Simply having books, magazines, and newspapers around your home will help children view them as part of daily life. And your example of reading frequently and enjoying it will reinforce that view.

While your children are still very small, it's a good idea to start a home library for them, even if it's just a shelf or two. Be sure to keep some books for little children to handle freely.

Include specially made, extra-durable books for infants, and pick paperbacks and plastic covers for kids who are older but still not quite ready for expensive hardbacks. Allowing little children to touch, smell, and even taste books will help them develop strong attachments.

How you handle books will eventually influence how your kids treat them. Children imitate, so if they see that you enjoy reading and treat books gently and with respect, it is likely that they will do the same.

When you read aloud together, choose books that you both like. If a book seems dull, put it down and find one that is appealing. There are, however, so many children's books in print that making the best selections may seem a formidable task.

One approach is to look for award-winning books. There are two famous awards for children's literature made each year by the American Library Association that are good indicators of quality work: the Caldecott Medal for illustration and the Newbery Medal for writing. But these are given to only two of the approximately 2,500 new children's books published each year.

Fortunately, there is a lot of other good help available. For instance, there are lists of books recommended by the American Library Association and the Library of Congress, as well as some excellent books to guide parents in making selections.

The best help of all, though, is at your neighborhood library. If you are not familiar with the library, don't hesitate to ask for help. The children's librarian is trained to help you locate specific books, books that are good for reading aloud, and books on a particular subject recommended for a particular age group.

The library also has many book lists, including ones like those mentioned above and probably some published by the library itself.

In addition, your library will have several journals that regularly review children's books, including the Horn Book and Booklist. These will give you an idea of what's new and worth pursuing.

And there's nothing like just browsing through the many books available at your library until you find ones that appeal to you and your kids.

If your children are school-aged, keep in mind that the school library is an excellent source for a wide variety of materials and the school librarian is knowledgeable about children's literature. Encourage your kids to bring home books from their school library for pleasure as well as for their studies.

Author: Kathryn Perkinson

Source: U.S. Department of Education

All American Pageant 2011

2011-07-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

All American pageant will celebrate's its 16th anniversary October 6-9, 2011 in beautiful Mrytle Beach, SC.

The All American Pageant is a system that fosters self-discovery and growth in a positive and supportive competition environment.

All American Pageant is self described as

"The only pageant system that has a division for women of all ages, sizes and martial status. We celebrate and recognize that beauty comes in all forms."

Melissa Hooks, the National Director, welcomes each of her state delegates into her pageant family with open arms and treats her royaly.

I have decided to embark upon the journey of being crowned All American Ms. 2011!

As Ms. District of Columbia All American 2011, I will compete in the following three areas of competition with delegates from around the United States of America:

Interview: 50% of score
Fun Fashion: 25% of score
Evening Gown: 25% of score

Share in my journey as I realize this dream!!!

Fireworks, Family, Friends and Fun

2011-07-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

Fourth of July has always been my favorite holiday since I came to the United States.

This year we broke from tradition. Instead of spending the day in Greenbelt at Buddy Attick park we barbequed at home with family and friends and then headed to the Charles County Fairgrounds to see the fireworks. As usual the fireworks were magnificent!

Keeping Kids Off the Summer Slide

2011-06-29T12:47:00.000-07:00

Source: Reading Is Fundamental

Something is waiting for many children each summer and their parents don’t even know it’s out there. It's called the "summer slide," and it describes what happens when young minds sit idle for three months.

As parents approach the summer break, many are thinking about the family vacation, trips to the pool, how to keep children engaged in activities at home, the abrupt changes to everyone's schedule—and how to juggle it all. What they might not be focusing on is how much educational ground their children could lose during the three-month break from school, particularly when it comes to reading.

Experts agree that children who read during the summer gain reading skills, while those who do not often slide backward. According to the authors of a report from the National Summer Learning Association: "A conservative estimate of lost instructional time is approximately two months or roughly 22 percent of the school year.... It's common for teachers to spend at least a month re-teaching material that students have forgotten over the summer. That month of re-teaching eliminates a month that could have been spent on teaching new information and skills."

The report's authors further note that family income plays a significant role in determining the magnitude of this summer slide. Students from low-income families "...experience an average summer learning loss in reading achievement of over two months." Not only do these students suffer greater sliding during the summer, they also experience cumulative effects of greater learning loss each summer.

Sociologists Karl Alexander and Doris Entwisle have shown that the cumulative effect of summer learning differences is a primary cause of widening achievement gaps between students of lower and higher socioeconomic levels. Research demonstrates that while student achievement for both middle- and lower-income students improves at similar rates during the school year, low-income students experience cumulative summer learning losses throughout their elementary school years.

Summer slide affects millions of children each year in this country—but it doesn't have to. Other articles in the "Motivating Kids to Read Section" offer tips for parents, caregivers, and members of community organizations to help keep learning fun throughout the summer break and the rest of the year.

Our House is Almost Complete

2011-06-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

Each day our house looks more and more like a home. The children are so excited about their rooms. William is even getting excited about helping me to decorate, especially the "man cave."

front of home with hardi-board siding up

side of home with hardi-board siding up

I love OUR House

2011-06-24T10:08:00.001-07:00

Thanks to my daddy I have some new photos of the house with the workers adding the siding.

It has been magically to see our home built. I have decided that I am going to name it so maybe the next post will include that tid bit of information.

Father's Day at the Carnival

2011-06-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

We celebrated father's day by taking the children to the carnival! Fun was had by all. William and I did not go on the rides but we played many games and he even won me a stuffed animal :)

Jade's Kindergarten Graduation

2011-06-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

Jade satifactorily achieved the requirements for the completion of Kindergarten. Jade will be joining Vanessa and William at Watkins Elementary this August.

The teachers at Peabody did a phenominal job in preparing Jadefor her next academic milestone..first grade.

Windows and Doors are In

2011-06-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

The house is coming along nicely. The windows and doors are all in. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we close before August 26th so the we can have our keys in time for my birthday :)

front view with windows and door 6.11.2011

Side view with windows and door 6.11.2011

Also we picked out paint colors for the children's rooms. We are still undecided about the rest of the house though.

Outbatting Pete Rose - Activity

2011-06-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

If books equal home runs, touchdowns, goals, or baskets, your kids can try to match or break the records of their favorite sports figures.

You might challenge fans of Pete Rose to break his record for the number of careers hits (more than 4,200) by reading more than that number of book pages. Or if that much reading is out of their league, two kids can cooperate to break Roger Mariss record for the number of home runs hit in a single season-61-by reading 31 books apiece. A younger child might try to read as many pages as Hank Aaron hit home runs (755).

Suggest that your children set up their own goals using whatever sports trivia they like. A sports magazine or current almanac can provide up-to-date statistics.

Here are a few possibilities:

*Record number of touchdowns in a season by a running back (a book equals a touchdown). Total yards gained in a season by a favorite team (a page equals a yard). Can your readers keep up with the team?
*Record number of points scored by a basketball player in a single game (a book equals a point) or by a team in a single season (a page equals a point).
*If visual incentives work better with your children, suggest a track and field event. Do your children like the pole vault? Help them draw a scaled-down diagram of a pole vault (an inch equals a foot) with each inch equal to a book. A child will have to read twenty books to break the world record for the highest vault. Your kids can measure the pole and mark their own ascent. They can make similar record-breaking and record-keeping charts for the highjump, the long jump, or the hundred-yard dash (a book for every second).

Reading Passport - Activity

2011-06-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

Before your children take off on a round-the-world reading odyssey, issue them each a passport so they can keep track of the places they visit. This kind of record-keeping activity is great for the long summer break.

MATERIALS:

*Spiral-bound deck of index cards or small spiral-bound notebook

*childs photo

*glue

*novelty rubber stamp

*stamp pad

*clear contact paper

To make a passport, tear the front cover off the spiral-bound cards. On the first card, glue the child's photograph. Write "Passport" in large letters, and the child's name. Laminate the card with clear contact paper for protection. After finishing a book,the child opens the passport to the next blank card and writes in the title of the book, the author's name, the place where most of the story took place, and the date. The child brings the passport to you -- the border guard -- and you stamp the page to validate that your child has traveled there.

Updated Home Pictures

2011-05-31T12:47:00.001-07:00

Getting so excited as the house transorms into our new home. Latest photos below.

Full Roof - front view 5.28.2011

Full Roof - side view 5.28.2011

Partial Roof - front view 5.27.2011

Partial Roof - side view 5.27.2011

First floor - front view 5.25.2011

First floor - cata corner view 5.25.2011

First floor - side view 5.25.2011

Giving Children Access to Print Materials Improves Reading Performance

2011-05-23T07:44:00.000-07:00

What impact, if any, does access to print material have on our children's reading? In an unprecedented, near- exhaustive search uncovering 11,000 reports and analyzing 108 of the most relevant studies, children's book lending and ownership programs were shown to have positive behavioral, educational, and psychological outcomes.

The study, "Children's Access to Print Material and Education-Related Outcomes," was commissioned by Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) and conducted by Learning Point Associates, a nonprofit education research and consulting organization and affiliate of American Institutes for Research (AIR).

The meta-analysis found that access to print materials:

*Improves children's reading performance. Findings from the rigorous studies suggest that providing children with print materials helps them read better. Among the studies reviewed, kindergarten students showed the biggest increase in reading performance.
*Proves instrumental in helping children learn the basics of reading. Providing children with reading materials allows them to develop basic reading skills such as letter and word identification, phonemic awareness, and completion of sentences.
*Causes children to read more and for longer lengths of time. Giving children print materials leads to more shared reading between parents and children. Children receiving books also read more frequently and for longer periods of time.
*Produces improved attitudes toward reading and learning among children. Children with greater access to books and other print materials—through either borrowing books or receiving books to own—express more enjoyment of books, reading, and academics.

One-Page Summary

Full Report

About Learning Point Associates Learning Point Associates is a nationally recognized, nonprofit education research and consulting organization with 25 years of experience working with educators and policymakers to transform education systems and student learning. The organization's reputation is built on a solid foundation of designing and conducting rigorous and relevant education research and evaluations; developing and delivering tools, services, and resources targeted at pressing education issues; and analyzing and synthesizing education policy trends and practices.

Since 1984, Learning Point Associates has operated the regional education laboratory serving the Midwest—initially known as the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) and now known as REL Midwest. Learning Point Associates also operates the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality, National Charter School Resource Center, Great Lakes East Comprehensive Center, and Great Lakes West Comprehensive Center. Learning Point Associates became an affiliate of AIR on August 1, 2010

OUR Home

2011-05-20T20:59:00.000-07:00

My fondest childhood memories were all created in my family's home on "T" street. I lived in the same house from the age of eight until my grandmother passed away in my arms within my bedroom. The myriad of happy (and even sad) memories created within this house are the ones that molded me into the person I am today.

Since 2007, I have wanted to give my daughter's a place in which they too can create lifelong memories and one day visit with their own children and reminisce on the past.

Through God's blessing I will soon become a DC homeowner.

Over the years, District government has rehabilitated numerous communities to insure that quality housing is provided for low and moderate income families. Like previously rehabilitated communities "Ivy City" is slated to be transformed from its current state into one of Ward 5's newest gems by way of 58 new condominiums and single family homes. These homes are being built through a partnership with the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and the DC Local Initiatives Support Corporation (DC LISC), DC Habitat for Humanitiy, MANNA and Mi Casa.

OUR home will be a beautifully constructed energy efficient 5 bedroom single family dwelling sitting on a lovely corner lot with space for entertaining or maybe a small swing play set for the girls.

Joyously, I will share photos of the pre-construction of OUR home below.

Land Prep

Framing of the house

Gowns, Eggs and Jesus Christ

2011-04-24T15:01:00.000-07:00

If you know our family personally, you know the highlight of Vanessa and Jade's week is to visit their grandparents on the weekend. Easter weekend was no exception to the rule. They attended church with my mother. Later that evening, William and I took all three children to an Easter egg roll at him grandcousin's home.

Getting the Most Out of Picture Books

2011-04-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

Source: RIF Parent Guide Brochure

Picture books represent a unique literary form that blends stories with art. In a picture book, the illustrations are as important as the text, and both work together to tell the story. When you share picture books with children, be sure to pay attention to the illustrations—reading picture books means exploring the art as well. This article can help you get more out of picture books by showing you how to use the illustrations to engage children and enhance their reading experience.

Hook Kids with Illustrations

We are told, "Don't judge a book by its cover." Well, children do it all the time. A child’s first impression of a book is usually shaped by the pictures. So involve children in choosing books with wonderful, eye-catching illustrations that beg to be explored. Conduct "picture walks" through books by leafing through the pages to look at the images and discussing what you see before you read. That way, the illustrations will draw in even the most reluctant reader.

Illustrations can do even more than draw a child into a book; they can hook children into a lifelong love of reading. For our youngest children, pictures are an introduction into the world of books. Long before they can read, children respond to images in an effort to place themselves and the others in their lives into the world around them.

Picture books aren't just for young children. Older children are often more motivated to read picture books than books without illustrations because they see them as more fun and easier to read. Picture books are also appealing as a break from longer novels because most can be read in a single sitting.

Bring Books to Life

Pictures enable children to explore the world within their own imagination and make connections to characters and events they see depicted in books. When you help children connect with characters and events, you make the book more real to them.

Here are some ways that illustrations bring picture books to life:

*Illustrators usually tell stories with pictures.
*Authors use illustrations to depict specific scenes of high emotion or action.
*Illustrators often use a variety of techniques to convey mood and tone as well as character and plot.

When illustrations reflect people, objects, and situations familiar to children, the images help validate their emotions and experiences. The process of making an emotional connection can help a child learn empathy and compassion for others.

See the World

Illustrations convey meaning and carry information, especially in non-fiction books where pages are often filled with commentary that is not in the text. Be sure to “read” your way around the pages—read and discuss the captions, tables, charts, and the information conveyed by the illustrations themselves. Storybooks, although fictional, can also convey a great deal of information. A story about a trip to a farm or to the moon may have illustrations that can teach kids a lot about these places. Realize that it takes time to explore picture books when you are using them to learn about the world.

Expose children to pictures of the unfamiliar, or use images in books to confirm and expand upon what they already know. Illustrations in children’s non-fiction books can expose children to new ideas, different people, and places they’ve never seen. Or careful exploration of the illustrations may uncover new facts about familiar objects. Whether fiction or non-fiction, a picture book can help children gain knowledge and move them to ask new questions about history, inventions, nature, other cultures, and more.

Build Reading Skills

Picture books help young children understand that words convey meaning, well before they are aware of the text. Pictures can help increase vocabulary, an important building block for reading. Books can help young children identify colors, shapes, numbers, and letters, as well as names of people, places, animals, and everyday objects.

Picture books can also help build background knowledge that is essential to successful reading. A child who has never been to the zoo, a farm, or a beach can still learn all about these places by exploring picture books. Select books with simple or realistic images so that kids can point to objects and learn names.

Picture books help older kids with comprehension and prompt them to read critically. They can use the pictures to predict what's going to happen next. The images can teach children to watch, look, and listen for clues, warning signs, and exciting things they might otherwise miss. More experienced readers can learn how to cross-reference the text and pictures in order to "read between the lines." Choose books whose illustrations convey meaning not contained in the text, and help older readers play detective by going back and forth between the story and the pictures.

Explore Art When You Read Together

Picture books present a perfect opportunity for adult-child interaction, another critical element in developing a lifelong love of books. Talking about what the child likes or dislikes about illustrations is an easy way to generate conversation around a book and its plot.

Pre-Readers: Choose books that have bold, vivid, and colorful illustrations of everyday objects.

Art Tip! Play "What's that?" by pointing to objects on the page and having the child name what they see. Or read the story, stopping periodically to ask the child to find the picture of the object or character you just read about.

Beginning Readers: Choose books with simple story lines and illustrations that closely match what is going on in the story.

Art Tip! Help children use pictures to keep track of the story as they go. Suggest that they retell the story as they read it to you. Encourage them to predict what will happen next based on the pictures they are seeing. Help them pay attention to the clues the illustrator left to foreshadow what is coming.

Independent Readers: Choose books where the illustrations tell a story of their own in fiction, or where they provide information of their own in non-fiction.

Art Tip! Consider reading the text aloud first without showing the illustrations. Then have children reread it while exploring the pages themselves. Discuss how the illustrations contribute meaning to the story.

Congress Chops Funding for High-Profile Education Programs

2011-03-09T13:03:00.000-08:00

Federal aid for literacy slashed in stopgap spending measure
By Alyson Klein

More than a dozen education programs—including high-profile efforts focused on literacy, teaching, and learning—face the prospect of a permanent federal funding loss after they were chopped from a stopgap spending measure signed into law by President Barack Obama last week.

The temporary spending law, intended to keep the government running until March 18 while Democrats and Republicans try to hash out a deal for the rest of the fiscal year, finances most federal programs at fiscal year 2010 levels.

But education programs such as Even Start, Striving Readers, and the privately organized Teach For America, ended up taking dramatic hits after Republican leaders insisted on cuts even in the temporary spending bill. The measure slashes nearly $750 million from the U.S Department of Education’s most recent overall discretionary budget of $46.6 billion, excluding Pell Grant funding.

Literacy programs bore the brunt. The funding for Striving Readers, which was financed at $250 million, was eliminated. The Even Start family-literacy effort lost its $67 million appropriation.

The $88 million Smaller Learning Communities program, which gave grants to districts to create more-personalized learning environments, was also scrapped.
Technically, the cuts are only in place for the two-week time period covered under the bill. But their restoration is considered extremely unlikely, given the aggressive push by lawmakers in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives to slim down the federal government.

And those cuts could just be the beginning, as Congress works to hammer out an agreement for the remainder of fiscal year 2011, which began on Oct. 1.

The House has approved a bill that would cut $5 billion out of the Education Department’s current-year budget, including a cut of nearly $700 million to Title I grants to districts, as well as a cut to Pell Grants for low- and moderate-income college students, and money to turn around the nation’s lowest-performing schools. The U.S. Senate has yet to take up the measure.

Education advocates are already worried about what this first round of cuts signals for the future of education spending.

“I do not believe that [Secretary of Education] Arne Duncan wanted to sell literacy out. He understands how important it is” to improving student achievement, said Susan Frost, a vice president of the Sheridan Group, a government affairs organication in Washington, who was a senior adviser in the Education Department during the Clinton administration. “I think we’re now into a very high-level political set of decisions by everyone, and that doesn’t necessarily result in the best decisions for children.”

But budget hawks say that increased spending doesn’t necessarily translate into better student outcomes—and that there is plenty of waste left in the department’s coffers.

“The president … needs to take much more than a scalpel to the Department of Education’s budget—there’s room to take an ax,” said Lindsey Burke, a policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank.

Obama Plan

When the cuts in the two-week stopgap measure were announced, a press release issued by the House Appropriations Committee said that education programs were targeted in part because they were slated for elimination in President Obama’s proposed fiscal 2012 budget.

But advocates say that’s misleading.

The administration had proposed consolidating 38 programs—including Even Start, Striving Readers, and Smaller Learning Communities—into 11 funding streams in its fiscal 2011 and 2012 budget requests.

For instance, the two literacy programs were supposed to be combined with four other programs into a $383 million funding stream called “Effective Teaching and Learning: Literacy.”

It was unclear whether Congress was going to take the administration up on its consolidation proposal, which would likely be a part of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Still, saying the programs were slated for elimination rather than consolidation was “really disingenuous,” said Joel Packer, a principal for the Raben Group, a lobbying and policy organization in Washington. He works for the Committee for Education Funding, a lobbying coalition.

A spokeswoman for the House Appropriations Committee did not return calls before deadline.

Support for two private nonprofit literacy programs whose federal aid had been slated for consolidation into the fund—Reading Is Fundamental, a book-distribution and reading-motivation program, financed at nearly $25 million, and the National Writing Project, a professional-development program aimed at improving writing instruction—was also axed.

Lawmakers considered both programs and at least 10 others “earmarks,” or congressionally directed spending, which Congress has pledged not to fund in the current budget year.

Ms. Frost said the administration’s consolidation proposal may have resulted in the targeting of the literacy programs: “Consolidation can be easily ticked off as a potential cut. ... When you block-grant something, you lose the constituency, because no one will say what this block grant is going to do.”

Secretary Duncan said at a March 3 breakfast with bloggers that he hoped the funding could be restored at some point, and that he didn’t consider the cuts in the two-week patch to be the final word on those programs.

But that hope may be a long shot, given GOP lawmakers’ push to slim down the federal government.

Some lawmakers, though, say they’ll try to get the funding back. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who heads his chamber’s appropriations subcommittee overseeing K-12 spending, said he would work to restore the cuts in a longer-term spending bill, particularly the cut to Striving Readers, a comprehensive literacy program that he views as unique and necessary, an aide said.

“When are we going to learn that we need to stop eating our seed corn?” Sen. Harkin said in an e-mailed statement. “When you cut education, that’s what it amounts to—hurting kids, especially the neediest kids.”

Cindy A. Zumwalt, the Even Start coordinator for the Illinois state board of education, said that because of the elimination of funding for Even Start, the 17 programs in Illinois will close. Last year, 643 families received services. She added that 89 percent of the families were at or below the federal poverty level. Seventy-nine percent of the parents were unemployed.

“The staff will have to look for other jobs, and more importantly, all of the families being served will lose service,” Ms. Zumwalt said.

‘Earmarks’ Slashed

A group of 11 senators, including Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., protested the cutting of programs that they said shouldn’t be lumped in with traditional earmarks: pet projects lawmakers request just for their districts.

“These programs are nationally structured, with many years of bipartisan support,” the senators wrote in a letter to top lawmakers on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “They benefit millions of individuals and families in a majority of states, districts, and regions throughout the country.”

Some of the organizations affected rely on the federal government for a relatively small portion of their overall funding, including New Leaders for New Schools, a New York City-based nonprofit group that trains principals to work in underresourced schools. Federal funds make up 20 percent of its overall budget.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, which lost its $10.7 million appropriation, is in a similar boat. The money was used to help teachers cover the cost of getting the group’s advanced certification and to help the organization improve its program. The teaching-standards board will be able to continue its operations without the money, said its president, Joseph A. Aguerrebere.

But some organizations may depend on federal money for their very survival, including the National Writing Project. It gets about 50 percent of its funding from the federal government, with the other 50 percent coming from local matching grants from colleges and universities that participate. Most of those institutions are strapped for cash right now, in the face of major state and local cutbacks, said Sharon Washington, the National Writing Project’s executive director.

“I would love for the Writing Project to continue,” Ms. Washington said. But while she and her staff will “work to do all things possible, we’re very aware of the fact that, without the federal investment, it will be a challenge.”

The program, based in Berkeley, Calif., helps teachers learn how to work with their colleagues to improve writing instruction. Technically, the organization could still get some federal aid from the Education Department through the Fund for the Improvement of Education for programs of national significance, a discretionary pot of money.

But that fund has also been hit. It was financed at $125.4 million in fiscal 2010, but is now down to $37.3 million

TFA Feels Pinch

Getting some of that money may be tough for the writing project. The department has “given us no indication that they would be able to provide that kind of funding,” Ms. Washington said.

Even Teach For America, a nationally prominent nonprofit based in New York City that attracts a lot of nonfederal support, will feel the loss of federal dollars.

The organization had projected that its 2011 corps would be around 5,400 teachers, said Carrie James, a spokeswoman for TFA. It now is expecting that number to be closer to 5,000, which means that 25,000 fewer students in high-poverty communities will have TFA teachers next year, she said.

The elimination of aid to TFA, which got $18 million in fiscal year 2010, won’t affect the group’s $50 million federal grant under the Investing in Innovation fund, which will be spent over five years and is intended to help TFA grow.

Lawmakers will spend the next two weeks working on ways to finance the budget for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. Education groups don’t expect a quick and painless solution.

In the meantime, school districts, education nonprofits, and other school-related programs may have to hold off on their planning for next school year while they wait for a longer-term solution—or another temporary one.

“It’s just a terrible way to run the federal government,” the Raben Group’s Mr. Packer said.

Assistant Editors Michele McNeil and Mary Ann Zehr contributed to this report.

MIA

2011-03-06T06:21:00.000-08:00

Trying to blend a family has caused me to neglect my beloved blog. I have a renewed spirit to continue my online journal so I will make a more genuine effort to post more frequently.

Self-Doubt and Your Resume

2011-01-07T06:12:00.001-08:00

Today I had to write my self-evaluation at work for our annual review. For months, I have been working hard to earn a promotion within my department but self-doubt crept in and negative thoughts began swirling in my head about not being promoted. I literally had to shut down my thinking and remember what life coach Georgie Borchardt told me in 2009. She told me anytime you forget all that you have accomplished just pull out your resume. I did just that and after reading over it about 10 times I regain my composure and was able to finish up my evaluation. I do not know if I will indeed be promoted but after having read my resume I know that I am deserving of a promotion.

OMG

2010-12-16T08:51:00.000-08:00

Oh my God, William gave me the only thing I wanted for Christmas (no it is not him on a silver platter), I am going to see Trey Songz and Usher at the OMG tour! I am soooo excited. Now I need to find an outfit and a hair dresser that can squeeze me in lol.

Nestlé Shares the Joy of Reading

2010-11-17T06:54:00.000-08:00

Here’s a sweet new way to help give books to kids. Enter codes from specially marked packages of Nestlé products, and for every code entered, Nestlé will donate 10¢ to RIF!

Happy Thanksgiving from RIF

2010-11-16T06:49:00.000-08:00

Brownie Girl Scouts Through the Year

2010-11-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

Last night was the first meeting of the 2010/2011 scouting year for troop 6037.

Due to changes in interest our troop has a few new members and some former member now participate in other activities during our meeting time.

Currently, there are 8 members in the troop and aproximately 5 tag-a-longs (siblings of troop members).

To introduce Girl Scouting to new members and re-enforce the history of scouting to current members we completed activities to earn the Brownie Girl Scouts Through the Years try-it. The activities for this try-it taught the girls what it was like during different time periods in history as it relates to Brownie Girl Scouting.

Financial Victory

2010-11-12T12:23:00.000-08:00

On December 12, 2009 I decided to attempt the feat of paying off $28,000 in student loan debt in one year. To my joy I can say my final payment toward this amount has been mailed. The past 11 months has taught me so much about my ability to do all things I set my mind to. Now that I have accomplished my first goal in joining the millionaires club let me go figure out my next step.

God has been extremely good to me!

Vote for a Child's Future

2010-11-07T12:19:00.000-08:00

Vote for RIF by November 21 to help us receive $200,000 from American Express. Act today to make a child’s future brighter with books and reading motivation.

Reading with Kids Challenge Reaches New Heights

2010-11-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

More than 5,500 participants logged over 16 million minutes reading with kids, surpassing our original goal of 10 million minutes! Learn more about the campaign results, and snag some ideas to keep you reading with kids all year long.

Happy 44th Birthday RIF

2010-11-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

On November 3, RIF celebrated providing millions of books to millions for children with a Happy 44th Birthday RIF photo and video contest. See the outstanding entries and winners.

Fall Is Here

2010-10-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

With the change of weather all I can think about is the "updating" of my look.

The past week or two I have perusede the local department store circulators for the latest fall must have wardrobe pieces. My favorite has been JC Penney's 10 must have pieces. The items on the list are very fashion forward yet still maintain the wardrobe building element that is essential for looking ones best without compromising your own personal style.

With thinking of style changes I know that to look my best in my new outfits I need to improve my physical health/appearance so I have re-joined (yes for the umteenth time) Weight Watchers and will incorporate more activity in my life to facilitate a healthy weight loss.

I am now thinking of skincare and hair styling options. I want to go to the beauty salon to get my hair done but unfortunately I can not find a loctican that completes maintenance with the same expertise as my mother. I wish she knew how to do the amazing styles I see in the magazine. Oh well, maybe I will get her to do the maintenance and go to the salon for the styling.

Let me go exercise while the momentum is still here.

Speaking Frankly

2010-10-09T15:47:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer - Very personal post however I needed to share since I view this as my electronic diary of our family's journey.

Even though God has provided me with all of the things I have asked for...a beautiful family, a man that loves my children and I, financial stability etc. I sometimes take these blessings for granted.

My insecurities push me to want to define things with titles such as girlfriend, fiance, wife, parent etc. For some odd reason I weigh my relationship on how it is presented to others upon introduction for example "Please meet Peta-Gay my friend" (not the introduction I want) or "Please meet Peta-Gay my fiance/wife" (not a factual introduction). I have been a wife for so long that I can not think outside of the title realm however this morning William and I had a very frank discussion because he wanted me to realize that it is the actions that qualify titles not the mere allocation of one. He specifically pointed out that he is a parent to Vanessa and Jade because he is the one that helps them with their homework, picks them up from school, read books/bedtime stories to them, provide financially and emotionally for them so regardless of whether others think he is a parent to them he knows he is because of the actions being performed.

He further shared with me that only I can make myself happy, regardless of whether I am dating someone or even if it is something more than dating, there is no guarantee of happiness because only I can make myself happy. Initially, I was upset to hear this because I saw it as him "picking on me" but having thought about it for eight plus hours I realize that his words are very true. I must work on being happy and comfortable with myself in order to share myself with others.

Meeting with Vanessa's Teachers

2010-10-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, I met with Vanessa's third grade teachers for parent teacher conferences.

I absolutely love her teachers at Watkins. It is evident that they put the needs of the student first and foster a learning environment that builds self-esteem and confidence.

The main discussion topics were the results of the assessments taken earlier in September. Vanessa scored high basic in both math and reading and was about 5 points away from proficient for both exams. This concerned the teachers (and myself) because they said it is obvious from speaking with her that she knows math and can read well so they are unsure why her scores did not indicate this. They are wondering if it could be a translation process problem that is affecting the spoken word moving from the brain and then replication on paper. They are going to do further monitoring and assessments so that we can figure out the best way to assist Vanessa with test taking and putting her thoughts on paper in an efficient manner.

A highlight of the meeting was the fact that Vanessa improved her DIBELs reading level by four alpha grades over the summer. I was extremely proud of Vanessa for doing this because I knew she read furiously this summer and was glad to see her efforts rewarded.

Family First

2010-10-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

The past 3 years I have dedicated almost all of my volunteer time to Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) because its mission of erradicating literacy is so important because knowing how to read is a necessary requirement to become a self supporting member of society.

RIF will always receive my full support, and a large chunk of my volunteer time, since I operate my own chapter however I will expand my personal mission of "Family First ~ Living a Family Centered Life" because at the end of the day I want to be remembered as a mom that was always there for her children.

In 2009, I became a Girl Scouts troop leader to ensure that Vanessa could have the Girl Scouting experience and it was one of the best things I ever did because it strengthen my bond with my daughter and improved her overall confidence in herself. Since Jade was too young to join the troop initially she served as my little helper however as of October 1st she is officially a Daisy Girl Scout. We are all so excited for the unfolding of the 2010-2011 scouting year.

Additionally, I am now a soccer mom to William (and Jade.) William's teacher explained to his dad that his self esteem needed to be bolstered because he did not interact well with classmates and oftentimes said negative things about himself. I have read numerous articles on how sports improves a child's confidence so I researched the different types available within our community and decided on soccer due to the fact that William is "specially-abled" due to not being able to use his left hand. Soccer was the perfect sport since no hands are allowed. So far, William is thoroughly enjoying soccer and it is the highlight of his week.

Earlier today, I made flash cards using Dolch sight words for all three children and it dawned on me that I need to share with others the importance of adult involvement in the lives of children (even those that are not biologically your own) because the impact these interactions have on the life of a child are priceless and directly determine the greatness of our next generation.

Reflections, Never Wonder Why Me...Just Trust in God

2010-10-02T07:22:00.000-07:00

I am finding as Forrest Gump said, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get" to be very true.

This year many blessings first appeared as obstacles.

In December of 2009 I experienced the lost of a child. I cried non-stop but knew that my baby would be safe with my heavenly father.

On January 1st I decided that I would not settle for anything less than what I truly wanted. This caused havoc in my life though because this forced me to end old relationships and pursue new ones. This unquestionably was the most difficult thing I had to do because I hate change.

Next, I battled with my children's school to prove state residency eligibility. I fought with all my might however in the end the school "claimed" we did not qualify by their interpretations on what is considered residency (even though by state school board standards we met every criteria/guideline).

What I did not realize though was that all of these things were a part of God's plan to organize my life as he deemed fit.

Today, I am blessed to be reunited with my first love. He is great with my girls and actively plays a support role in their lives. Additionally, I have been blessed with a surrogate son that has garnered me the title of "soccer mom" and plenty of hugs and kisses. Best of all though my girls enjoy their new school more than the one they previously attended.

As I sit here I am glad that I experienced everything I went through this year because I am stronger and more motivated to follow my father's plan because he knows what is best for me and will provide everything I need.

Which Road Do I Take

2010-09-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

I am no longer elligible for the Mrs. International competition due to my seperation from Chance. I know with God's guidance one day I will again gain elligiblity for this competition.

I still have a passion for pageantry however I am unsure if I should continue competing because the options for 30 year old mothers who are not divorced yet not currently living with spouse (happily married) is extremely limited. I further limit my choices due to my research in aligning the competition I select with my value system.

There are two systems I am considering though because I know the impact being a local pageant titleholder has had in moving my message of children's literacy awareness.

DIBELS

2010-09-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

The dreaded DIBELS results are in for the 2010-2011 academic school year.

Vanessa took the assessment last week. Last night, I received a notice from her teacher about a meeting on the 20th to discuss the results and the best ways to create proficient readers. Yeah, the irony in a reading advocate receiving this letter :)

If you ask me, thanks to the training and resources RIF makes available to its coordinators and volunteers I am extremely aware of the best practices to assist children in being proficient readers. My ego wants me to take the letter lightly however as a concerned parent I will be at Monday's meeting absorbing all of the information that is shared because my ultimate goal is to create a literate nation one child at a time so why shouldn't I start with my own.

Read and Win a Disney Vacation!

2010-09-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

For a third year, Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) and US Airways are working together to help children nationwide discover the joy of reading. Starting September 1, adults are invited to join the 2010 Read with Kids Challenge and help collectively log 10 million minutes spent reading with kids. You’ll have the chance of winning a family vacation to the Walt Disney World Resort® and more great prizes. Get on board! Visit www.RIF.org/readwithkids today.

Read Now! With Taylor Swift

2010-09-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

Students between the ages of 8-14 are invited to write 250 word or less about the book they will always remember. Ten winning students (with their parent or legal guardian) will be selected to receive an all-expense paid trip to New York City to attend the "READ NOW! With Taylor Swift" literacy event.

Below is information on how to enter:

ENTER THE READ EVERY DAY ESSAY CONTEST TODAY!

Eligibility:
Contest open to legal and current residents of the 50 United States (including Washington, DC), Puerto Rico and Canada (excluding residents of Quebec) between the ages of 8 - 14 as of September 20th, 2010

How to enter:
1) On an 8.5x11 sheet of paper, write 250 words or less answering the question, "What is the book I will always remember reading, and why?"

2) Mail your entry with the signed parental approval form (see below with the rules) to:
READ EVERY DAY ESSAY CONTEST
Scholastic
557 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

3) The deadline for entries is September 20th, 2010.

4)10 winning students (with their parent or legal guardian) will be selected to receive an all-expense paid trip to NYC to attend the "READ NOW! with Taylor Swift" literacy event.

5)See below for more details and the OFFICIAL RULES.

1. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. To enter, print clearly/or type an answer to the following question on 81/2 X 11 paper: "What is the book you will always remember and why?" Entries must be fully original, must not exceed 250 words and must be in the English language. All entries must include your name, address, age, gender, telephone number, name of the school you attend and the parental consent statement set forth below (with parent/legal guardian signature); entries must be mailed with proper postage to READ EVERY DAY ESSAY CONTEST, Scholastic Inc, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. ALL ENTRIES MUST INCLUDE THE PARENTAL CONSENT STATEMENT AND BE SIGNED BY A PARENT/LEGAL GUARDIAN OR THE ENTRY WILL BE REJECTED. BY SUBMITTING AN ENTRY, ENTRANT AND ENTRANT'S PARENT/LEGAL GUARDIAN AGREES AND CONSENTS TO THE USE OF ENTRANT'S NAME, AGE, GENDER, LIKENESS, ENTRY AND ESSAY BY SPONSOR WITHOUT FURTHER NOTICE AND/OR COMPENSATION FOR ANY LAWFUL PURPOSE WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING ADVERTISING, PROMOTION OR TRADE PURPOSES. One entry per person. All entries must be post-marked by September 20th, 2010. Partially completed entries or mechanically reproduced entries will not be accepted. Scholastic Inc. ("Sponsor") assumes no responsibility for lost, misdirected, damaged, stolen, postage-due, illegible, or late entries or mail. All entries (and all rights in the winning entries) become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned.

2. Contest open to legal and current residents of the 50 United States (including Washington, DC), Puerto Rico and Canada (excluding residents of Quebec) between the ages of 8 - 14 as of September 20th, 2010, except employees, and their immediate family members, of Sponsor, its affiliates, subsidiaries, and their respective advertising, promotion, and fulfillment agencies. Contest is void in Quebec and where otherwise prohibited or restricted by law.

3. Entries will be judged based on the equally-weighted criteria of (a) originality, (b) clarity and (c) how well the entry communicates the entrant's unique connection to the one book in their lives they will always remember and why. Judging will be completed on or around September 27, 2010 by Sponsor, whose decisions on all matters relating to this contest are final and binding.

4. Except where prohibited, each entrant's parent/legal guardian consents to the use of his/her child's name, age, gender, entry, likeness and/or essay by Sponsor without further notice or compensation.

5. Grand Prize: Ten prize winners and one parent/legal guardian per winner will be flown to New York City on October 26th, 2010 to attend the live READ NOW WITH TAYLOR SWIFT event on October 27th, 2010, and will get to meet and take a photo with Taylor Swift and receive a Taylor Swift poster Each prize package includes roundtrip coach class air transportation between gateway airport nearest to winner's home and New York, one night standard hotel lodging based on double occupancy in New York, ground transportation between airports and hotels, dinner on October 26th and lunch on October 27th while in New York and $50 spending money (to cover additional expenditures while in New York, such as breakfast on October 27th and transportation from the hotel to the event) . Winners and their accompanying parent/legal guardian will be responsible for all trip expenses not specified herein as being awarded, including, without limitation, baggage fees, transportation to and from the airport in their home town, as well as any additional incidental costs associated with the trip. Winners and their accompanying parent/legal guardian traveling from Canada must have a valid passport as of October 26th, 2010. All travel will take place between October 26th, 2010 and October 27th, 2010, except in the event flight availability requires earlier departure and/or later return date(s). Travel must be made through the Sponsor, on a carrier of Sponsor's choice. Winners and their accompanying parent/legal guardian will be required to sign and return an affidavit of eligibility/release of liability within five (5) days of notification or an alternate winner will be selected. If a winner lives within a 100-mile radius of New York City, round-trip ground transportation selected by Sponsor may be substituted for round-trip airfare. Approximate retail value of each prize $1,480. Total approximate retail value of all prizes combined: $14,800. All state, federal and local taxes will be the responsibility of the winners' parents/legal guardians. Certain travel restrictions may apply. Sponsor is not responsible if the READ NOW WITH TAYLOR SWIFT event is delayed, postponed or cancelled for any reason, in which event, that portion of prize is forfeited in its entirety and no substitution will be provided, except as may be provided in Sponsor's sole discretion. In such event, Sponsor shall have the option but not the obligation, in its sole discretion, to substitute a different prize activity. Sponsor's liability is limited to only the travel portion of the prize.

6. Prizes are non-transferable, not returnable, and cannot be sold or redeemed for cash. No prize substitution allowed, except by Sponsor in case of unavailability, in which case a prize of equal or greater value will be awarded. By participating, entrants, winners and accompanying parents/legal guardians agree to release and hold harmless Sponsor, its advertising and promotion agencies and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, representatives, agents, successors, assigns, employees, officers and directors, from any and all liability, for loss, harm, damage, injury, cost or expense whatsoever including without limitation, property damage, personal injury and/or death which may occur in connection with, preparation for, travel to, or participation in the contest, or possession, acceptance and/or use or misuse of prize or participation in any contest-related activity and for any claims based on publicity rights, defamation, invasion of privacy, copyright infringement, trademark infringement and merchandise delivery. Sponsor is not responsible if any prize cannot be awarded due to travel cancellations, delays or interruptions due to acts of God, acts of war, natural disasters, weather or acts of terrorism.

7. ENTRY VALID WITH SIGNED PARENTAL CONSENT ONLY. ENTRIES RECEIVED WITHOUT PARENT CONSENT SIGNED BY PARENT/LEGAL GUARDIAN WILL BE REJECTED.

8. Winners will be notified by Sponsor via phone or mail on or about September 27th, 2010. Winning entries may be published by a national news outlet, on-line and/or otherwise released by Scholastic, itself or through third parties, in whole or in part. Winners may be contacted by Sponsor to arrange an interview to appear in such outlet. No other publication or release of entries is permitted without Scholastic's prior written consent. One or more winners may also be asked to attend and participate in media and/or public relations events (the "Media Events") designated by Sponsor and/or requested by various media outlets. Upon Sponsor's request, and subject to winner's availability, each winner agrees to participate in such Media Events without any further compensation. Sponsor shall have the right, in its sole discretion, to choose the winners it wishes to participate in such Media Events. By accepting the prize, all winners, whether or not chosen to participate in such Media Events, agree to release Sponsor and its affiliates, subsidiaries, distributors and agencies, and hold each of them harmless, from any claims relating to their selection, non-selection, participation or non-participation in any Media Events.

9. To obtain a list of winners, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope by October 27th, 2010 to: READ EVERY DAY ESSAY CONTEST, Corporate Communications, Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

10. Sponsor: Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012

___________________________________________________________

CLICK HERE TO PRINT OUT RULES AND REQUIRED CONSENT FORM

INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING SIGNED CONSENT WITH YOUR ENTRY. ENTRY VALID WITH PARENT'S/LEGAL GUARDIAN'S SIGNATURE ONLY. ENTRIES RECEIVED WITHOUT THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT SIGNED BY ENTRANT'S PARENT/LEGAL GUARDIAN WILL BE REJECTED.

PARENTAL CONSENT: I give permission for my child to participate in the Read Every Day Essay Contest and agree to the terms and conditions in the Official Rules. If he/she wins, I consent to the use of his/her name, age, gender, likeness, entry and/or essay by Sponsors without further notice and/or compensation for any lawful purpose whatsoever, including advertising, promotion or trade purposes.

Parent/Legal Guardian signature
Print Name: ________________________________________

Looking Forward

2010-09-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

I decided to share this news today on my blog because tomorrow will be a difficult day for me because it would have been 9 years that Chance and I were together.

We have decided that in the best interest of our family that we should seperate. It was an extremely difficult decision to make however we think it is best for OUR FAMILY at this time. Please keep us in your prayers as we transition to our new family lifestyle.

M.I.A

2010-09-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since my last post however it is because I am LIVING life :)to the fullest.

I will try to catch my readers up about what has gone on in the past month or so over the next week.

Macy's Raises More than $3 Million to Book A Brighter Future for Children Served by Reading Is Fundamental

2010-08-25T07:20:00.000-07:00

More than 1 million customers supported the campaign held at Macy's stores nationwide

WASHINGTON, August 23, 2010—The 2010 Book A Brighter Future™ campaign, RIF's largest customer supported campaign held at Macy's stores nationwide, raised more than $3 million to benefit the millions of children served by RIF. From June 30 - August 1, more than 1 million customers visited Macy's stores and gave $3 to support RIF. Macy's donated 100 percent of the funds to RIF.

Since 2006, Book A Brighter Future has raised more than $16 million for RIF. The dollars raised help RIF work towards its mission of putting free books in the hands of the children who need them most. Because $1 of every $3 will benefit a local RIF program, this campaign provided Macy's customers an opportunity to positively affect literacy in their communities. Of the $3 customers gave, $1 will also go to RIF's Multicultural Literacy Campaign, which supports early childhood literacy in African American, Hispanic and American Indian communities, where reading scores are lowest. Lastly, the remaining $1 will support RIF's ongoing efforts to provide reading resources to millions of underserved children across the country.

"After five years, Macy's continues to be successful at raising funds through Book A Brighter Future to help RIF work towards our mission," said Carol H. Rasco, president and CEO of RIF. "In these challenging economic times, RIF is fortunate to have the commitment and support of Macy's to encourage more children and families to discover the joy of reading."

Together, volunteers at RIF programs throughout the country and Macy's associates enthusiastically promoted Book A Brighter Future to their communities. RIF volunteers visited more than 300 stores to demonstrate their appreciation for Macy's support. Additionally, the Book A Brighter Future microsite provided visitors the option to Tell-A-Friend about the campaign for a chance to win a $1,000 Macy's shopping spree from RIF. This year's winner is Linda Denney of Fleming Island, Florida.

You did it again!

2010-07-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share this email message from RIF's President and CEO Carol Rasco. Please read below:

Thanks to the thousands of emails, letters, calls, and visits you sent and made to your members of Congress about the importance of RIF’s federal funding, BOTH the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Education have reinstated RIF’s FY11 funding at $24.8 million.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

However, we have more hurdles to clear. The funding must still be approved by full committees in both houses of Congress, and make it into the final bill before being signed by President Obama.

Please be alert to future messages about RIF’s funding as we may need your help again for a final push at one of those stages. As always, you can check out RIF’s Advocacy Center for the latest information.

Thank you again and Happy Reading!

Sincerely,
Carol H. Rasco

President and CEO

Personally, I thank each of you that sent letters to your Congress member!

Miss Teen International 2010 & Miss International 2010

2010-07-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

A new 2010 teen and miss queen has been crowned for the International system.

Julianna McKee who represent the East Coast region is the new Miss Teen International 2010.

Ashley Smith hailing from Texas was crowned Miss International 2010.

A huge congratulations goes out to all of the delegates that represented their titles so well. I would especially like to thank Maykala and Heather for making Maryland proud!

How Do I Know a Good Early Reading Program When I See One?

2010-07-23T07:32:00.000-07:00

As I am researching potential schools for my girls I thought it would be fitting to share this article with others parents navigating the school selection process.

How Do I Know a Good Early Reading Program When I See One?

Author: First Lady Laura Bush
Source: Bush, Laura. A Guide for Parents: How Do I Know a Good Early Reading Program When I See One? Ready to Read, Ready to Learn Initiative, U.S. Department of Education, Feb. 26, 2001.

*Every teacher is excited about reading and promotes the value and fun of reading to students.

*All students are carefully evaluated, beginning in kindergarten, to see what they know and what they need to become good readers.

*Reading instruction and practice lasts 90 minutes or more a day in first, second, and third grades and 60 minutes a day in kindergarten.

*All students in first, second, and third grades who are behind in reading get special instruction and practice. These students receive, throughout the day, a total of 60 extra minutes of instruction.

*Before- or after-school help is given to all students beyond first grade who need extra instruction or who need to review skills. Summer school is available for students who are behind at the end of the year.

*Reading instruction and practice includes work on letters, sounds, and blending sounds.

*Students learn to blend letters and sounds to form new words.

*Learning new words and their meaning is an important part of instruction.

*Students have daily spelling practice and weekly spelling tests.

*The connection between reading and writing is taught on a daily basis. Students write daily.

*Papers are corrected and returned to the students. By the end of second grade, students write final copies of corrected papers. Corrected papers are sent home for parents to see.

*All students are read to each day from different kinds of books. Students discuss what they read with teachers and other students.

*All students have a chance to read both silently and aloud in school each day and at home every night.

*Every classroom has a library of books that children want to read. This includes easy books and books that are more difficult.

*The school library is used often and has many books. Students may check books out during the summer and over holidays.

Mrs. United States 2011

2010-07-22T07:52:00.000-07:00

Mrs. United States crowned it's 2011 winner tonight with Rachel Juillerat garnering the coveted title. In addition to the national title this teacher from Alabama also won the swimsuit physical fitness award.

Special awards were given to the following delegates:

Congeniality - Mrs. Idaho - Sondra Lavoie
Photogenic - Mrs. Kentucky - Dr. Tammi Wyatt Halvorson

Final placement of runner-ups for the Mrs. United States title were:

4th Runner Up -Mrs. Georgia - Lisa Muzi

3rd Runner Up - Mrs. North Dakota -Sarah Bazey

2nd Runner Up - Mrs. Tennessee - Stephanie Lynch

1st Runner Up - Mrs. Minnesota - Wendy Russo

Congratulations Rachel on being crowned Mrs. United States 2011!

I Will Not Be Defeated

2010-07-21T04:04:00.000-07:00

Life is crazy...my children are no longer students at Yu Ying because I competed for the 2009 Mrs. Maryland International title.

Thanks to the great exposure I received about the book distribution fair Beginning the Journey sponsored at Yu Ying for its students, a google alert came up and the school decided to use my title as Mrs. Montgomery County International as a decision maker to determine that I am not a DC resident even though I pay taxes, vote and my primary residence is in the district.

I was truly crushed because my message of the importance of literacy to the Yu Ying community is what directly caused my children to no longer be a part of this very community.

Since learning of their decision I have gone through a range of emotions...anger, disappointment, feeling that I failed my children etc. however after sitting back I realize this is just a minor glitch for my family. We are bonafided DC residents by the standards of the government regardless of what the school perceives due to me entering the Mrs. Maryland competition especially since the rules for entry is live, work, attend school or own property in said state.

I am currently researching potential schools for my daughters however due to the late notice in which the school informed me of their decision we have very limited choices because all of the better charter and private school deadlines have passed and there is no other Chinese Immersion school in the district.

What saddens me the most is that my children did not get the opportunity to say final good-byes to their friends since they thought they would be seeing them in August.

I have faith that God knows why he removed my children from Yu Ying so I will not let the school's decision weight further on my heart but will instead forge on with finding the best school for my girls, spreading the RIF message to eradicate children's illiteracy and pursue my dream of becoming Mrs. International (I might have to go at large as Mrs. DC International however because I do not want to have my residency in question again of whether I am a DC or MD resident because I participate in a pageant that uses different residency requirements than the school board).

****Update****
I will be competing for the 2011 Mrs. Maryland International title this November and will just provide official residency entry requirements to the school board if my residency is questioned again...let's knock on wood this does not happen though :)

Mrs. International 2010

2010-07-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

First, I would like to congratulate the 2010 Mrs. International class on a superb job of serving as goodwill ambassadors for their states and bringing awareness to their chosen platform.

I would especially like to say thank you to Angel McCoy for representing our great state. I know it will be my pleasure getting to know you in the coming months as I prepare for the 2011 state competition.

Drum roll please, the results for the 2010 Mrs. International pageant are :

4th runner - up, Southeast Asia - Zerena Huff
3rd runner - up, Utah - Janine Mardquardson
2nd runner - up, Florida - Donna Brown
1st runner - up, Oklahoma - Heidi Ducato

and the 2010 Mrs. International is the illustrious, Shannon Devine, Mrs. Southeast.

Mrs. International Prelims

2010-07-17T06:26:00.001-07:00

Last night was prelims for Mrs. International.

Shannon Devine, Mrs. Southeast, won photogenic. Photogenic is selected via candids taken during pageant week. I knew she was a contender for the award because I have been impressed with her myself all week.

Well, I am off to view photos from last nights competition now.

RIF's Ter-RIF-ic Summer Reading Tips for Families

2010-07-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

Source: Reading Is Fundamental
Ages: 5-8, 9-12, 13+

Summary:Experts agree: Children who read during the summer gain reading skills, while those who do not often experience learning losses. Kids across the nation are sure to find reading enticing this summer with these tips.

Tips for Families:

Combine activities with books

Summer leaves lots of time for kids to enjoy fun activities such as going to the park, seeing a movie, or going to the beach. Why not also encourage them to read a book about the activity? If you're going to a baseball game, suggest your child read a book about his or her favorite player beforehand. In the car or over a hot dog, you'll have lots of time to talk about the book and the game.

Visit the library

If your child doesn't have a library card, summer is a great time to sign up. In addition to a wide selection of books to borrow, many libraries have fun, child-friendly summer reading programs.

Lead by example

Read the newspaper at breakfast, pick up a magazine at the doctor's office, and stuff a paperback in your beach bag. If kids see the adults around them reading often, they will understand that literature can be a fun and important part of their summer days.

Talk it up

Talking with your kids about what you have read also lets them know that reading is an important part of your life. Tell them why you liked a book, what you learned from it, or how it helped you -- soon they might start doing the same.

Help kids find time to read

Summer camp, music lessons, baseball games, and videos are all fun things kids like to do during the summer. However, by the end of the day, children may be too tired to pick up a book. When planning summer activities with children, remember to leave some time in their schedules for reading. Some convenient times may be before bedtime or over breakfast.

Relax the rules for summer

During the school year, children have busy schedules and often have required reading for classes. Summer is a time when children can read what, when, and how they please. Don't set daily minute requirements or determine the number of pages they should read. Instead, make sure they pick up books for fun and help find ways for them to choose to read on their own. You may even want to make bedtime a little bit later if you find that your child can't put down a book.

Have plenty of reading material around

Storybooks aren't the only thing that kids can read for fun. Be sure to have newspapers, magazines, and informational material on hand that might spark the interest of a young reader.

Use books to break the boredom

Without the regular school regimen, adults and kids need more activities to fill the hours. Books that teach kids how to make or do something are a great way to get kids reading and keep them occupied. Don't forget to take your kids' favorite reading series along on long road trips.

Read aloud with kids

Take your children to see a local storyteller or be one yourself. The summer months leave extra time for enthusiastic read-alouds with children no matter what their age. Don't forget to improvise different voices or wear a silly hat to make the story that much more interesting!

Mrs. International

2010-07-15T06:37:00.000-07:00

The festivities for the Mrs. International pageant officially kicked off yesterday.

Thanks to the official photographer, Paula Preston, I am able to follow along with the delegates and share in their experience.

Everyone looks lovely. So far my favorites in terms of wardrobing/styling are Ohio, Western States, Southeast and of course Maryland.

I hope each lady savors the experience because being a part of the 2010 Mrs. International class is truly a once in a lifetime experience. Some day, I to will have my own Mrs. International experience :)

Galaxy Crowns Four New Winners

2010-07-11T07:40:00.000-07:00

Summer is my favorite time of year because most national competitions are held in July. During competition week I scurry the voy messageboards, google blogs and facebook to view pictures of the activities and crowning.

Galaxy pageants was one that I wanted to know the results for immediately since Yolanda Makle was competing in the Ms. division and I have known her for the past six years. My luck would have it that my computer would get a virus so I was without Internet the entire week of competition. With desperation I logged on to the web via my smart phone and low and behold I saw an announcement that Yolanda was the new Ms. Galaxy. To say I was proud was an understatement. I knew how hard she worked to prepare for the 2011 competition so I was ecstatic that the judge's saw her fitting for the title.

The other three titleholders crowned that night were:

Miss Teen Galaxy Int'l - Abbie Luther

Miss Galaxy Int'l - Taylor Parks

Mrs. Galaxy Int'l - Adrianne Caruso

CONGRATULATIONS ladies on conquering the Galaxy!

North American Pageant

2010-07-04T11:24:00.000-07:00

About 2 weeks ago I was discussed extensively on the voyboards. The dialogue nearly broke my heart however I am stronger because of the experience that initiated the discussion.

In 2004, I attempted to start my own pageant system...North American Pageants. I created the system with the intention of producing a top quality event however being a mere 23 years old I did not truly understand all that was involved in directing. Sadly, things began well enough...I advertised, recruited contestants and had prizes sponsored however I was unable to produce a quality event. When I realized that I was not going to hold the type of event I had intended I should have cancelled the pageant however not wanting to disappoint the contestants I thought I could forge ahead and still have a pageant. Wrong decision! Upon the arrival of the contestants to the event venue I attempted to cancel the pageant with a full refund to every contestant however the contestants wanted to make due with the event since they were already there. Being a "people pleaser" I did not follow my own instinct and tried to continue on with the pageant. Another wrong decision. A pageant was held however it was not at the expected caliber and everyone involved was disappointed.

To this day, I regret that I disappointed the delegates that believed in me and trusted me enough to entered my competition. Without intending to I shattered the dream of the delegates that wanted to be Miss Teen North American, Miss North American and Mrs. North American...saying I am sorry, attempting to refund money spent by the delegates for the competition and being remorseful can never erase my actions regardless of how hard I would like it to. I am truly sorry for my actions and ask God to forgive me for my poor handling of the North American Pageant system almost daily.

My failed attempt at directing has given me a greater appreciation of the hard work that directors put in to give us pageant ladies a platform to showcase our accomplishments. THANK YOU directors for a job well done! It is often times a thankless job that many don't know what is entailed however having failed at directing I know first hand what it takes to be a successful director and applaud each of you.

Shop and Save at Macy's

2010-07-02T11:07:00.000-07:00

The RIF and Macy's Book A Brighter Future™ campaign is here! Now through July 31, 2010, stop by your local Macy's and give $3 and get $10 off* one purchase of $50 or more. Macy's will donate 100% of every $3 to RIF. And enter RIF's Tell-A-Friend Sweepstakes for a chance to win a $1,000 Macy's shopping spree.

"Join me in support of RIF and Macy's as we help Book A Brighter Future for our nation's children."-Susan Sarandon

*Exclusions and restrictions apply. See store for details.

KIDS COUNT Special Report Available

2010-06-20T11:38:00.000-07:00

RIF is proud to partner with the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Check out the new 2010 KIDS COUNT special report, “Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters.”

Not Giving Up on My Dream

2010-06-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

As a parent I think one of the biggest lessons one can teach their child is never to give up on a dream.

I tell Vanessa and Jade to "try", "do your best" and "you can achieve anything you set your mind too. " Yet I am not living by my own words. Instead I have focused all of my attention on the needs of my family without consider what my ambition/interests are. Subconsciously this is my way of not failing...how can you fail if you never really tried?

I am an extremely busy mom, wife, community activist, business professional, and student however I must lead by example and not give up on my dream of being a national titleholder.

As a project coordinator I keep the ball rolling for a multi-million dollar department of a national non-profit so I know I can manage a household, be remembered as a mother that was always their for her children while pursuing my dream of winning a national pageant title.

Let the preparations begin. Here's to me winning in 2011!

Summer Reading Rewards

2010-06-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

Join RIF and Scholastic as we raise awareness about the importance of summer reading. Parents and Educators: Donate $5 through the Give to RIF campaign and receive 20% off select Scholastic products. Kids: Sign up for the Scholastic Summer Challenge and log the time you spend reading this summer for a chance to win cool prizes.

Summer Reading with a Purpose

2010-06-17T11:31:00.001-07:00

Summer To Do: Vote for RIF! Thank you for voting for RIF in the American Express Members Project. Because of your support, we've moved on to the second phase of the campaign. Please help RIF receive $200,000 from American Express by casting your vote as often as once a week.

Reinstate RIF’s Funding Update

2010-06-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your continued support! RIF is busy meeting members of Congress and conducting congressional literacy events nationwide. We’re also watching the House and Senate appropriations and authorizing committees as they draft funding and education bills. We’ll be sure to update you through our online advocacy center.

National Summer Learning Day

2010-06-12T11:35:00.000-07:00

June 21 is National Summer Learning Day. This national advocacy day is a great opportunity to showcase your educational program and get the word out about the importance of summer learning. Webinars from the National Summer Learning Association can help you plan your event.

Working It Out Meeting

2010-06-11T18:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight Girl Scouts troop 6037 performed activities to earn the Working It Out try-it.

Conflict happens when two people disagree. Learning how to handle conflict in a positive way is the emphasis of this try-it.

Scouts discussed the wrong way of handling an altercation and then followed with the appropriate actions they should take to resolve the matter.

Another activity completed was learning to listen effectively so as not to misunderstand information from others. This activity entailed one scout stating something to her partner and the other scouting saying "I heard you say...." Each scout listened attentively to her partner and every member of the troop was successful in sharing what the other scout said on the first try :)